Three Months
by kaotic312
Summary: When the girls get together, watch out! They're making lists and checking it twice. Are the guys in or out? Shika, Neji, Naruto, and Sasuke are now declared 'undateable' by the girls. Who does that leave? Rated T for language.
1. The List

**As I was making my New Year's resolution to finish all my open fics (including Dazed and Confused) before starting anything new ….I got an idea. Now it won't leave me alone.**

**So much for resolutions, and yes I know it's only the first day of the year. O.o**

**Disclaimer: I own no rights to NARUTO. Zip, zilch, nada, nothing. I may cry.**

**o.o.o.o.o**

Sakura and Ino sat dejectedly at the outdoor café in the middle of the Leaf Village. Neither looked very happy as they waited for their tea to be served.

"Are you sure?" Sakura asked softly, wincing.

Ino nodded sadly. "I heard him tell Chouji that he wasn't sure what he was going to do, since he had a date with both me _and_ Temari for the Winter Festival. Apparently, he's too lazy to break up with one of us and is waiting for one or the other of us to break up with him, then marry the girl who stuck around."

Sakura whistled at Shikamaru's stupidity. "And here we thought he was smart."

"He is. Except where women are concerned." Temari interrupted as she grabbed a chair and pulled it up to the table. "I got your note." She said, glaring at Ino.

Ino stiffened her spine, then sighed and slumped back in her chair. "When I first heard, I blamed you. Then I realized that if you didn't know about me dating him, and I didn't know about you dating him, then HE was the jerk. Not us."

Temari nodded, as she signaled for fresh tea and new cups. "I tore apart two whole training fields after I got your letter. It's good I was in Suna or I would have come after your blond hide."

Sakura shook her head sadly at the two girls. "I knew Shikamaru was lazy, but this is ridiculous." She picked up her tea cup, then sputtered a bit and then pursed her lips together to keep from laughing.

Ino growled while Temari just rubbed her temples. "So? What's so funny about Nara being an idiot? A dead idiot." The Sand kunoichi said gruffly.

The pink-haired girl shook her head and used her napkin to wipe her mouth. "No, no, you're not funny. I just thought it would be cool to put a big sign over Shikamaru's door warning off all girls because he is now 'undateable'."

"That's not funny." Ino muttered, then thought about it. In her inner mind she could see a bright flashing sign with Shika's face and a big red 'X' painted right across it. Her lips trembled a bit. "Fine. It's a _little_ funny."

Temari nodded as she sighed. "That's not all I'd like to do to him. But if I do what I want, it would be seen as a declaration of war between Konoha and Suna. As it stands, I'm done with him. Over. I have nothing for a man I can't trust. Yamanaka wins."

"No. Shikamaru loses. Both of us." Ino groused. "I'm sick to death of chasing after him. First Sasuke and now him? I give up."

Sakura cringed. "Speaking of Sasuke …"

"What, you've heard from him?" Ino asked. "That jerk. I thought I loved him and he goes and abandons us for the man who murdered our Third Hokage."

"And my father." Temari sipped at her tea which had just been delivered to their table. The Sand kunoichi looked thoughtful a moment before speaking again. "Although, I'm not as mad about that as I probably should be. Father was a jerk too."

Sakura nodded. "I …I looked at Sasuke's picture the other day."

"Yeah?" Ino said. "Still pining over him?"

"That's just it. No, I'm not. I looked at him and all I felt was anger and sadness that he was gone. I love him like a teammate, but …deep in my heart, when I looked at his picture. Nothing."

Temari chuckled. "We're going to have to put an 'undateable' sign over him as well. That's two down. Eligible bachelors aren't exactly thick on the ground, you know. We'll probably end up fighting over someone else now."

"Fighting? Are you all setting up sparring schedules without us?"

Startled, the three kunoichi looked over at where TenTen and Hinata had stopped beside their table. TenTen laughed at the look on their faces. "Sorry, sorry! Didn't mean to interrupt."

"No, no. It's okay." Ino grumbled and scooted over to make room at the table for the two newcomers. "It's just hard for us unattached women to see you being all happy with your guy."

Hinata blushed and shook her head, knowing they meant TenTen and not she. She didn't have a boyfriend. Then she paused, puzzled. "I thought you were dating Shikamaru?"

Temari coughed bitterly as Ino winced. "So did I. So did Temari. Jerk-off was too lazy to choose between us. Thought it too 'troublesome' to break up with one of us, and so was seeing us both."

TenTen's eyes widened, horrified. "That's awful! Did you leave him alive?"

Sakura laughed without much humor behind it. "Yes, unfortunately. Ino can't kill her own teammate and Temari can't kill him without starting a war."

TenTen shrugged. "We're ninja. Hire someone to do it."

Temari blinked then actually smiled. "You're more cold blooded than I thought. I like that. But no, if I can't kill and dismember him personally, then I don't want anyone else to have the pleasure."

Ino nodded. "Sakura said something about having him declared 'undateable'. I like the idea of him being shunned and growing old alone. That appeals."

Sakura nodded and smirked a bit. "Although the 'undateable' list is too short. I feel it needs expanding."

"Uchiha Sasuke." Temari sneered as she nodded. "Good idea. I can't believe you girls were chasing after him while my brothers can't get dates at all." She said, ignoring the fact that she'd at least considered the Uchiha 'cute' when they first saw him. Temari comforted herself with the knowledge that at least she'd never been one of Sasuke's fangirls. She'd thought she'd been so lucky to fall for the 'smart' one. Shit. Dumb Nara jerk.

TenTen looked puzzled. "This surprises you? Gaara was a homicidal monster and Kankuro, well, no one knows what he really looks like under all his Bunraku stuff."

"He's hot." Sakura said, then frowned as every eye turned curiously on the pink-haired girl. "Well, he is. I saw a lot of him while I healed him from that poison Sasori used. He's actually really nice looking. He's just rough around the edges, that's all."

Temari looked intrigued. "Why don't you ask him to the Konoha Winter Festival then? I'm sick of the girls at home only trying to get close to him because he's the Kazekage's brother. He ignores them all though, said he's sick of people trying to use him."

Sakura blushed and shook her head. "No, I treated him. I don't know if I could see him as anything other than my patient now."

Hinata looked over at the medical ninja curiously. "But Sakura, you've treated almost all the male ninja in the village at one time or another."

"Shy girl has a point." Ino said, looking eagerly over at her long-time friend and some-times rival.

Sakura shrugged. "Mostly cuts, bruises that sort of thing. The healing I had to do on Kankuro was intense. I had to not look at him as a friend or ally, but just as something that I had to do. I had to separate my feelings. I don't know if I could date him." She paused, thinking about it. "But you could, Ino."

"Look, this is all very interesting." TenTen interrupted, then grinned devilishly. "Maybe we should set up a Kankuro tournament. Winner gets to ask him to the Winter Festival."

Temari looked startled at that, then started laughing, her mood finally lightening a bit. She'd been in a horrid funk ever since she'd learned of Shikamaru's perfidy. Cheating ass. The thought of her baby brother as a prize in a tournament just tickled her. "Wait, wait. I can't win a date with my own brother!"

"Who says you'd win?" TenTen sneered, laughing.

Ino chuckled and put up her hands between the two kunoichi. "Back down. TenTen already has a boyfriend."

The weapons mistress sighed and settled back. "Got any more of those 'undateable' signs to pass out?"

"No!" Sakura breathed, shocked. She and Ino exchanged wide-eyed looks.

"What gives?" Temari asked, point blank. "I thought Hyuuga was all about you. You're the only one he ever escorts anywhere."

"Sorry, Hinata." TenTen whispered loudly to the purple-haired girl at her side. "Truth? Neji uses me as a screen to keep fangirls away."

"He likes guys?" Ino said, making Hinata choke and sputter as she shook her head madly.

TenTen laughed, patting Hinata on the shoulder. "No, not that. He's just relationship lazy. Neji never asks me out, he just shows up and expects me to be free. He only wants me around when it's convenient to him and things like that. As a teammate he's perfect. But I'm tired of being taken for granted. I don't think he even really likes me all that much. As a boyfriend he's …he's …"

"Undateable." Ino sighed. "Our list grows longer."

"Add Naruto." Hinata said quietly, then blushed as all eyes fell on her. "He doesn't know I exist. And when I finally got the courage to ask him out, he didn't even notice. Blew me off to train."

"You finally over him?" Temari said, in what was almost a gentle manner.

Hinata nodded silently, even as she blushed a bit. Her chin was firm though and her pale eyes never wavered.

"About time." Sakura said firmly as Ino nodded in agreement. "So. For our list of guys that are no longer dateable we have: Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, and Shikamaru."

Ino nodded and pulled out a pen and picked up some napkins. "Now. Who's left? We need dates for the Winter Festival. We divvy up who we want and no one fights. Then Neji will show up alone and Shikamaru can fall into desperate bachelorhood forever."

"Kiba and Shino." Hinata said firmly. "I can't date them, they're teammates. But they're good guys."

"Cute too. One's too loud and the other's too quiet. But both are handsome enough." Temari nodded. "I want my brothers on that list too though."

TenTen raised a hand to object. "Kankuro sure, but Gaara? Remember? Homicidal monster?"

Temari shook her head. "He's much better now, especially with that demon finally gone. He just has been too busy as Kazekage to date much and, as with Kankuro, the girls all want him for political reasons. I'd much rather see him date one of you."

Ino nodded as she added the names. "I'm putting in Chouji. Now, no one object because he's really a great guy. Handsome and sweet all at the same time."

"No one's objecting." Temari said, thinking of the gentle Akamichi ninja. "I got to know him through Shikamaru. He's quite nice and caring, though not really my style."

"Lee." Sakura said firmly. "Put him on there."

Ino paused and looked around the group. "If we put Lee in here, that's one too many names."

Temari thought about the mini-green beast of Konoha and …well, shuddered a bit. "He's …energetic."

"Kind." Sakura pointed out.

"Loud." TenTen mused.

"Sweet." Sakura added, getting a bit desperate.

"Persistent." Ino said quietly.

"That's not a bad thing!" Sakura pointed out, her voice rising.

"Then you take him." Hinata said, not unkindly.

Sakura sighed and gave up. "Fine. But if for some reason one of the other boys don't work out, Lee is first alternate."

"Agreed." They all said together, then laughed at each other.

Ino then reached out and grabbed Sakura's and TenTen's hand. She glared at everyone else until they all joined hands across the table. "Solemn oath. No one dates ANY of the 'undateables'. Clean breaks. No going soft. They're out in the cold and we leave them there."

Temari grimaced, but nodded. Sakura nodded as well. TenTen thought of Neji forgetting every birthday she'd ever had and how he'd never asked her out, just assumed she'd be there for him. "Agreed." TenTen said.

Hinata chewed her bottom lip a moment, then nodded. "Agreed." She said, silently bidding farewell to Naruto in her mind. She needed this.

"This is what we'll do." Ino said, thinking feverishly. "We all need clean breaks. So. We all choose a new boyfriend and date him for no less than three months. No cheating, three full months. Give them all a chance. These guys aren't used to girls like us chasing them, so they might be skittish at first."

Temari raised one brow in amusement. "You're serious?"

Ino nodded. "Deadly. At the end of three months we meet back here and compare notes. Go from there."

Temari nodded. "That's actually good. Nothing permanent. We're having try-outs for new boyfriends. I like it!"

Sakura nodded in agreement as well. "I can do three months."

Everyone else quickly fell in with the plan. Temari shook her head as she laughed. "This is stupid, but I'm definately in. Just as long as Shikamaru has no one to warm him up at the Winter Festival." She warned them all.

They all grinned and sat back. Ino smiled wickedly. "Now. How do we divide up the guys we _can _date?"

Temari shrugged. "Obviously I can't date my brothers, ew. And I have to let Chouji go as well. He's Shikamaru's best friend. I could do that to the Nara jerk, but not to Chouji."

"That leaves Kiba and Shino." Hinata said quietly. "They're both wonderful."

Temari raised an eyebrow at that. "Sure you don't want one of them?"

Hinata shook her head, smiling, and not even blushing. "No, they're both like wonderful brothers to me."

"Fine." Temari thought it over and made a fateful decision. "I like quiet better than I like loud. Anyone object to me taking the bug ninja?"

Ino shrugged, though Sakura was a little relieved. She wasn't much for bugs. "One down." The blond stated happily. "I think Hinata should go next. Kiba and Shino are out for her."

"That leaves Kankuro, Gaara and Chouji." TenTen pointed out to her Hyuuga friend.

Hinata shrugged, unable to make a choice.

Sakura sighed. "Look. I think we should draw names, leave Kiba's out while Hinata draws then the rest of us takes a turn."

"That's hardly romantic." TenTen groused.

Sakura shrugged. "Nothing about this is. This is about making a clean break and dating someone new. Not a crush, not someone we've wanted from afar. This is about choosing a NICE guy to date for a change." She paused and remembered how Gaara had nearly killed her once. "Well, _relatively_ nice anyway. They're not 'undateable' like the others are."

Temari nodded. "This is about dating someone for three months. Then we come back together and compare notes. If the guy you have is not right, we can always switch it up then. This isn't a life-time commitment here. Oh, and NO sex."

Hinata nodded, actually relieved to hear it all spelled out like that.

"Can we kiss?" Ino said slyly, making the others groan.

"Kissing yes, but nothing you'll regret if it ends in three months." Temari said, choking and wondering who Ino would end up with.

Quickly they made up the lots to be drawn. Ino held out the teacup with everyone's names written on small scraps of napkin. "I forgot to take Kiba's name out, so if you draw him just let us know and you can draw again."

Hinata bit her bottom lip as she reached for the names.

"Wait! No Byakugan! No cheating!" Ino said sternly, making Hinata blush even as TenTen laughed.

"This is Hinata we're talking about, not you." Sakura chided her friend. "Go on, Hinata."

The Hyuuga girl smiled and closed her eyes, though that was not actually an impediment to her clan's bloodline limit. Still she didn't cheat as she took a name.

"Well, aren't you going to look?" TenTen asked her.

"I want everyone else to go first." Hinata said shyly.

Ino shook her head. "We need to know if you have Kiba's name first, remember?"

"Oh." Hinata said and opened her slip of paper. Her heart about stopped until she saw the name there. She actually smiled and held up her name. "Chouji."

Ino frowned. "I don't know. He's quiet too, lacks confidence in himself with women. Two shy people together?"

Temari frowned and thought about it. "No, remember this is only for three months. Maybe she needs to cut her teeth on someone quiet and nice. Gain confidence in herself and in turn maybe he'll feel more confident too. Hinata's a very pretty girl, this might be good for both of them."

Ino nodded reluctantly. "Just remember, Hinata. This is not a game. We're really dating these guys for three months. Oh! There's always Lee if you want to switch!"

"No!" Hinata giggled, clutching Chouji's name in her hand. "No. I'm fine."

Sakura groaned. No matter who she dated, she'd still have Lee running after her. Damn it! "Okay, TenTen, you go next."

The weapons kunoichi nodded, took a deep breath and chose a name. She looked at the other girls and Sakura nodded back at her. She too took a deep breath before choosing one of the two final names. Ino eyed the last scrap of paper warily, then steeled herself. She couldn't wimp out, it had been mostly her idea anyway.

"Well?" Temari demanded, curious.

TenTen peeked at her name, and raised a brow as she smiled. "You did say Kankuro was hot underneath his black outfit and make-up. Right?"

Sakura grinned and nodded even as she nervously looked at her own destiny. Well, short-term destiny at least. "Kiba." She said, feeling a bit relieved. At least she knew him more than she did the Sand siblings.

Ino didn't even bother to look at her paper, knowing who was left.

Temari grinned over at her. "Lee's still available."

Ino laughed outright, though she was a bit nervous. "So. The homicidal monster part IS in the past. Right?"

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Is it worth continuing? REVIEWS make my day, and help me write my stories. Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. First Moves

Hinata ate dinner in a daze that night, not sure how to go about dating someone. In fact, this was the same predicament she was always in, wanting to go out with someone and not knowing what to do about it.

_Still_, she mused, _this was different_. Always before she'd been longing after Naruto, who never even seemed to realize she was around. Or if he did, was sweet, but blind to her feelings. The name she'd drawn from the teacup had been Chouji's. Would he look at her as if she wasn't there too?

Hiashi finished his final course and waited until the servant cleared the dish before looking around at them all. "The Winter Festival is coming up. I'm going to need guest names for the luncheon."

Hinata's eyes went wide. That's right! She'd forgotten that the Hyuuga clan always had a celebratory luncheon prior to the start of the festival. This had never mattered before, as she'd never been anyone's date at the festival before. She winced slightly as she recalled some of the escorts her father had 'graciously' provided for her each year.

"One." Neji said quietly, he too letting the servant clear his plate.

Hiashi grunted as he nodded. "TenTen again? She is a lovely kunoichi. Talented."

Neji nodded absently, his mind elsewhere.

Hinata opened her mouth to tell them that TenTen would NOT be attending the festival with Neji this year. She closed her mouth a moment later, without saying a word. Her face heated up and turned red. Poor Neji. Still, it wasn't her place to tell him.

"I'm inviting Toko Miashi and his two sons. They can escort …" Her father began, startling Hinata into acting without thought.

"No." Hinata breathed out, her voice barely a whisper.

Still, it was loud enough to stop her father as he turned to stare at her with cool detachment. "Toko-san is an important man in this village. There is nothing wrong with his sons. Would you embarrass the family by going alone?"

"No." Hinata said, a little louder. This was it. Now or forever remain silent, and marry the choice her father eventually would make for her. "I want to invite someone."

"No. Absolutely not." Shocked, Hiashi's eyes flew to Neji who was looking hard at Hinata. "He's a good man, I'll admit, but …there's no need to put yourself through asking him. You'll only faint. Again. You'll never actually ask him and end up going alone. Just accept the escort, it'll be easier. Invite him over another day. Lunch next week perhaps?" Neji said rather condescendingly, even if his intention was kind.

"You know who she would invite?" Hiashi asked, a bit surprised that his shy daughter had her eye on anyone. He'd seen no evidence of that when he'd ask her about her day each night.

Neji shrugged, a bit surprised himself that his uncle didn't already know about Naruto. "She likes …"

Hinata rushed to interrupt, something she never did. "I want to ask Chouji."

Neji stopped, stunned. Even Hanabi blinked twice at her, then grinned widely.

"Akamichi Chouji?" Hiashi asked, puzzled. He thought it over a moment and then nodded. "A good choice. Nice family, strong and with a decent lineage. Not rich monetarily, but with good political connections and they own a decent amount of land around the area. I approve."

"You do?" Hinata looked and felt a bit stunned. In fact, she'd not really considered needing her father's approval to ask Chouji on a date. Neji's comments had sort of pushed her into it.

"Really?" Her cousin asked, still looking a bit off kilter.

Hiashi nodded, even giving a tight-lipped smile at them all. "In fact the more I think about it, the more I like it. Hinata, this is an excellent choice, you surprise me making such a well-thought out decision."

Hinata blushed at the comment, catching both the good and bad connotations in it. Ah well, she was used to being looked on as 'lesser' by her family.

The Hyuuga clan leader nodded and looked pointedly at Hanabi. "You'll be escorted by Toko's youngest and I suppose I can call on one of the branch family cousins to act as an escort to his older son."

Hinata looked down at her plate, realizing suddenly that she was the last one eating and she wasn't even half done yet! With a sigh, she nodded to the servant to remove her plate anyway. Father hated to wait for her 'dawdling' ways at the dinner table.

"I look forward to meeting this young man formally. So, we'll need to add three to the main table." Hiashi continued, making mental notes.

"T…th …three?" Stammered Hinata, who blushed. She'd thought she'd left her stammering and stuttering days behind her.

"Young Akamichi and his parents, of course." Hiashi said absently.

Hinata went cold. _His parents?_ Now what was she supposed to do? It hurt to breathe as she thought about it all. She didn't have to just ask Chouji to escort her to the festival, she had to ask him to bring his parents to a family luncheon? A sentinel signal of courtship! Oh what had she gotten herself into now? Could she tell her father that this was only a three-month trial dating period? Hinata nearly fainted at the very thought.

Finally, her lungs demanded air and Hinata coughed as she began breathing once more. Her face pale and feeling shaky, she looked around but found everyone else was leaving the room. She hurried to keep up.

o.o.o.o.o

"Kiba? What are you doing?" Sakura demanded as she watched the Inuzuka male search the area, sniffing suspiciously.

"Looking for your cohorts." Kiba replied gruffly, signaling to Akamaru to search with his own senses.

Sakura looked perplexed as she too glanced around. "Cohorts?"

"Yah. This IS a joke right? Ino's around here somewhere, I just know it. And maybe not just her." Kiba growled low, even as Akamaru gave an 'all clear' yip. "I mean, you just asked me to escort you to the Winter Festival." The kunoichi's cheeks pinked a bit, which only serve to make her look all too cute in Kiba's opinion. He frowned.

"No joke." She said crossly, a bit hurt he'd think that of her.

Kiba gave up, he sensed nothing. They were really and truly alone. "So, what? You track me down to the training fields and wait until I'm alone and then …decide to ask me out?"

"Jerk." Sakura sighed. "I tracked you down because I had _**already**_ decided to ask you out."

Kiba drew back at that, feeling exposed to attack. Did he believe her? His mind raced as he tried to make sense of it all. "You've never flirted with me before." He said matter-of-factly.

Sakura gave him a small apologetic smile. "My loss."

Kiba blinked, not sure how to take that. "So, what about Sasuke? He's attained his goal and killed his brother. Why aren't you tracking him down now that he's free? Remember, I saw your face and heard you cry at the gates when we left to try and retrieve him that time he left. You love him."

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed and nodded. "Fair question. Yes, I still love him." She said with just a hint of anger in her voice. "But he betrayed us. People were hurt. You were hurt. A few almost died because of him. And still I loved him. But I've grown, changed."

"You just said you still loved him." Kiba said, feeling uneasy.

"I do." She admitted ruefully. "But as a teammate and a friend. But I don't love him romantically, not anymore. In fact, I think I loved the idea of him more than I did him. As his leaving proved, I never really knew him at all."

Kiba looked away, his heart speeding up a bit as he heard the sincerity in her voice. "He could come back."

"I'd welcome him back to Konoha." Sakura said simply. "But I'm not looking to chase him around anymore."

"So, you're wanting to chase ME now?" He asked, disbelief dripping from every snarly word.

Sakura grinned and stepped forward, looking up into his face. "I'm hoping you won't run." She whispered, her lips close to his, then she stepped away and looked at him over her shoulder. "This isn't a game, or a joke, or anything like that. I just want you to escort me to the Winter Festival."

Kiba drew in a sharp breath as he finally realized that she was serious. Heat bloomed inside his veins as he watched the sexy kunoichi walk away from him. The rhythm of her toned hips and ass teased his senses. She was nearly gone when he ran to catch up to her, Akamaru barking at his heels.

Sakura smiled, more relieved than she'd cared to admit that he'd stopped her. For a moment she'd really thought he was going to turn her down.

"What about Lee? Or Naruto?" Kiba asked, needing to know.

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know who they'll escort." She bit her lower lip deliberately, and tilted her head shyly, a move she'd learned from Ino. "I didn't ask either of them."

Kiba felt a bit fuzzy around the edges as he realized what she was telling him. He wasn't second choice. He wasn't some last minute desperate date for a girl who didn't want to go alone. Sakura wanted him to be her date. "You're serious?" He couldn't stop himself from asking.

The kunoichi frowned up at him, looking lost in her own thoughts. Kiba groaned. _Here it comes_, he thought. The put down. Funny, he'd never thought Sakura the type to play these games.

"You know. It would be awkward to go to the festival as a first date. Besides, it's a month away." Sakura looked up at Kiba speculatively, then slipped her arm through his as he stiffened in surprise. "I think we need to practice."

"Okay." Kiba intoned, not sure what was going on. Then he blinked down at her. "Practice what?"

"Dating." She informed him with a soft giggle that sent shivers down Kiba's spine. "We'll start with you walking me home."

They were half-way to the village from the training ground he'd been using before Kiba's brain caught up with current events. Abruptly he stood a bit straighter and let her arm slide out from under his. Sakrua looked over at him in surprise, only to catch her breath as he captured her hand in his own.

Kiba looked at her, unsure how she'd react. He grinned sloppily as she nodded and let him hold her hand.

Akamaru walked along on the other side of Kiba and gave a happy yipping bark.

o.o.o.o.o

The group of girls hadn't made any mention of setting up a meeting time, but all found themselves at the same café the next morning. They eyed each other, then Ino giggled and even Temari smiled.

"Well?" Ino asked. "What's new?"

Temari groaned and rolled her neck. "I was so mad at Shikamaru last night, I barely slept. We are supposed to have a date today. Lunch."

"What are you going to do about it?" Ino asked, feeling the hurt of betrayal all over again. Damn that man.

"Stand him up." Temari shrugged. "I tried to write him several notes, calling it off. But everything ended up with 'bastard' and 'ass' and 'jerk'.

Sakura beamed at them all, picking up the tea pot the waitress had delivered. She poured them all cups as she told them of her success. "Well. Kiba is going to be my escort to the Winter Festival."

"Oh!" Hinata blushed happily for her friend. "That's wonderful! He's really a good guy, underneath all that loudness."

"He was so sweet about it!" Sakura smiled happily. "But at first I had to convince him I wasn't playing a joke on him. Can you believe it? He really didn't understand why I asked him out."

TenTen grinned and sipped her tea. "That's because he doesn't know the other guys have been put on the 'undateable' list, or have been divvied up between the rest of us. Probably not a good thing to tell him."

Sakura nodded, looking a bit shamefaced. "I know, I know. I just meant he was so cute when he acted like that. He seriously thought that I would have no interest in him. I don't think he realizes that he's a pretty good looking guy who has a lot going for him. In fact, I can't believe I never noticed that before!"

"You've fallen that quickly?" Temari raised a brow. "Then again, you were unattached before we drew names." She sighed and picked up her own teacup. "The bug ninja is on a mission with his father and won't be back until the day after tomorrow. Maybe, if all goes well. So I'm stuck like a cart in the mud, spinning my wheels."

"Us too." Ino gestured to TenTen, who nodded. "Your brothers are coming for the political talks as well as the Winter Festival, but won't be here for a few more days yet."

Sakura grinned. "Then why don't we go shopping? I need a new outfit for the festival anway."

"Wait, wait." Temari groused, having been shopping with Ino and Sakura before and not wanting to really re-experience that nightmare. "What about little Hinata here? Any progress?"

TenTen put an arm protectively around the purple-haired kunoichi. "She's shy, probably trying to get up the courage …"

"I cleared it with my father." Hinata rushed to say, appalled that everyone thought she was a coward when it came to dating stuff. She was, but that didn't mean everyone had to point it out at every turn!

"What?" TenTen looked stunned.

"I told him I wanted to invite Chouji to escort me and he said yes. He even wants me to invite Chouji's parents to the Hyuuga luncheon." Hinata said in her quiet voice.

"Parents?" Echoed Ino, looking perplexed. "That's rather …deep, isn't it? I mean, this is only for three months."

"Unless it works out." Sakura said, butterflies in her stomach as she thought of dating Kiba, for longer than three months. She hadn't yet told the group she had a date with him tomorrow night.

Hinata shrugged, looking apologetic. "Father was going to set up an escort for me, so I told him I wanted to ask Chouji. It all sort of snowballed from there."

"Wow." TenTen said, then squeezed Hinata's shoulders. "I'm so proud of you though."

Hinata blushed prettily, then remembered something important. "Oh, and Neji thinks you're going to be his date for the festival. He told father."

TenTen's expression hardened. "Oh he did? Funny, he never asked me. In fact, he NEVER asks me."

Sakura giggled and then when everyone looked at her, she smiled. "Shikamaru's on the 'undateable' list for asking two girls out at the same time, and Neji's on there for NOT asking at all."

Ino burst out in laughter, the sound so infectious that everyone started in, even Temari. "Sasuke's on the list because he not only never asks, he leaves and betrays friends."

"And Naruto for being rude." TenTen smirked.

Hinata though, frowned. "Naruto's not rude." She said, her laughter fading into confusion.

"You said he was." Ino pointed out gently.

Hinata shook her head. "No I didn't."

Temari sighed, rolling her shoulders wearily. She really hoped to sleep better tonight. "Actually, you did. You said Naruto blew off dating you to train."

Hinata blushed scarlet. "Oh. But that's not right."

Sakura shook her head, not getting it. "You put him on the 'undateable' list."

The Hyuuga girl nodded. "For being blind. For never noticing. I asked him out and I don't think he even realized what I was doing. Said he didn't have time to eat with me, or go to the movie with me, or anything else. He wanted to train."

"So. Oblivious, but not out-and-out mean or rude?" Temari asked, making sure she got it right.

Hinata nodded, still beet red. "He just doesn't see me."

TenTen pondered that a moment. "Well, I don't know. That's not a good trait in a guy. But if he wasn't mean or rude, should we leave him on the 'undateable' list?"

"Hinata?" Ino asked, curious. "What do you think? Want to ask out Naruto instead of Chouji?"

The purple-haired girl thought about it a long time, then finally shook her head. "No. I'm through chasing him. I want to be the one …er, oh, I don't know how to …"

Ino nodded. "Me too. I don't want to chase anyone anymore. I did that already. Then I nagged Shikamaru until he took me out. I'm sick of it."

All the girls nodded.

"I hate having to nag Neji to remember things, like that I'm allergic to strawberries. The one present he bought me last year was a jar of strawberry preserves. Said he thought of me while on his mission down south." TenTen said bitterly. "I want something different too."

Hinata blushed as she looked at TenTen. "He brought me and Hanabi a jar of those preserves as well. I'm sorry."

"That jerk." Ino breathed out as she saw the hurt in TenTen's eyes.

"No, it's alright." TenTen straightened. "It just hardens my resolve."

"Are you going to tell him that you're done with him?" Hinata asked, unsure how Neji was going to react to the news.

"No." TenTen looked around, her dark eyes flashing furiously. "No. He never asks me out. And so, I'm not going to say anything and see how long it takes him to figure out. Hinata? Don't you tell him."

"I won't." Hinata promised, glad in a way. She certainly didn't want to have to tell her cousin about this.

Sakura nodded. "We go on with our plan. What about Naruto though? Do we leave him on the list?"

Ino nodded boldly. "Yes. For three months at least. He's on probation. Until he proves himself worthy of dating, he remains on the 'out in the cold' list."

All the kunoichi looked grim as they nodded to each other. Then Temari's mouth twitched and she nudged Ino, pointing with her chin.

Ino turned to look and grinned. She looked over at Hinata as she lowered her voice. "Chouji just went into to the tanner's shop. Alone."

Hinata gulped and stared at all the other girls. Every eye was on her. She trembled as she wished she could simply disappear.

o.o.o.o.o

**THANK YOU! Thanks to all who reviewed and said you wanted the story to continue. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Up next? Chouji of course! And a certain bug ninja.**

**Please review! It really helps me focus in on what people like and where the story should be heading.**


	3. Asking Chouji

Hinata nearly fainted five times before she'd even crossed the street. She felt sick to her stomach, realizing that facing down enemy shinobi was less gut-wrenching than what she was about to face. The purple-haired kunoichi stopped just outside of the tanner's shop. Her head was buzzing and the edges of her vision were turning dark.

Sudden pain snapped her back to reality as someone slapped her hard on the back.

"Breathe." Hissed TenTen, who'd hurried away from the other girls as she'd seen Hinata's steps becoming slower …and slower ..and slower.

Air rushed into her lungs and Hinata nodded her thanks, her stomach settling a bit as oxygen flooded her system once more.

"You don't have to do this now. No one will think less of you." TenTen said gently, rubbing a small circle on Hinata's back.

"Thank you." Hinata whispered, then turned and saw the other girls at the café waving at her to come back over. Her brain ground to a halt.

TenTen tried to urge the girl to move, but Hinata's feet felt frozen in place.

"They think I can't d…do it." Hinata stammered a bit, wincing at the strained sound of her own voice.

The weapons kunoichi hugged the other girl slightly. "It's okay. We'll work up to this."

Hinata still didn't move though. "This isn't life or death." She mused to herself.

"What?" TenTen strained to hear the other girl's voice.

Hinata turned to look at the tanner's shop. "This isn't Naruto. This is Chouji."

"Right." TenTen smiled uncertainly. "So?"

Hinata gave the other girl a small smile and straightened her shoulders. "Chouji may turn me down, but I know him. I know he'll never see past me without ever hearing what I have to say at least."

The light was slow to dawn, but the older girl played along at least. "Yes, exactly!" TenTen told her encouragingly, though she wasn't exactly clear on what was going on in the Hyuuga girl's mind. "Go for it!"

Hinata gave a rough nod, then walked right up to the door of the shop. She was through the door and inside before she could change her mind.

TenTen twirled around to look at the other girls who were all grinning and clapping. She rushed back over to them.

"Nice job!" Ino crowed. "What did you say to her?"

TenTen shrugged. "I don't know. It wasn't really me. She mumbled something about this not being Naruto, then went inside."

Sakura laughed and nodded. "I get what she means."

"Really? Because I don't." TenTen said. "I'm just glad she's going through with it."

The pink-haired medical nin smiled. "I had no problems asking out Kiba. None."

Ino frowned at that, twirling her finger in the air. "So what? Rub it in that you're the only one with a date so far. Just remember, the rest of us are asking guys who aren't even in town yet."

Sakura shook her head, laughing again. "No! No, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, that when I was crushing on Sasuke, it literally turned my tongue into bow knots. And we've all seen how Hinata has reacted to even the _mention_ of Naruto's name in the past."

"So?" TenTen said as Temari rolled her expressive eyes.

Ino nodded though, her frown smoothing out. "I get it. Kiba was easy to ask out _because_ you weren't tripping all over your own tongue. If the Inuzuka said 'no', it wouldn't tear out your heart and stomp it into a mushy pulp like it would have with Sasuke."

Temari's mouth dropped open, closing her eyes as she too nodded in understanding. "I hear you. So, Hinata just realized that all she had to lose was Chouji saying 'no', and she also figured out that if he did say 'no' ...it wasn't the end of her world."

"Oh!" TenTen grinned sheepishly. "Well, then. Asking out your brother should be a cinch then!" She said, then her grin faded and she moaned miserably. "Nope. Doesn't work for me. I'm still embarrassed about having to ask out a guy rather than have him ask me out."

Ino shrugged. She didn't get it the problem there, as an avowed fan girl she'd been chasing guys over half her life. Waiting around to be asked never even entered her consciousness.

Temari chuckled though. "Maybe it's because Kiba and Chouji are known to you all. You already have a friendship and a history with them. Kankuro is new to you, so it feels weird. Right?"

TenTen thought it over a moment, then shrugged. "I don't know, maybe. Maybe it's because I've never even seen his face without the facial paints. Who knows. All I know for sure is that my stomach hurts just thinking about it."

All the girls laughed, then one by one they turned to look at the door of the tanner's shop as if on cue. No one said anything for a long time.

"She's been in there a few minutes now." TenTen whispered, finally breaking the silence of the group.

"Hai." Ino agreed, nervously drumming her fingers on the table top.

Temari put her hand on Ino's to stop the irritating noise, though her eyes never wavered from the door that Hinata had disappeared through. "Think it's going well?"

Every head nodded 'yes'. But none of them quite believed it. This was Hinata after all. She was a great friend, and an asset on the field. But in the matters of men? Not so much.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru was laying out on the hillside, reveling in the nice weather Konoha had been enjoying. It was deep fall, but it had warmed up a bit lately so that everyone was using any excuse to be hanging around outdoors. Still. Winter was coming, there was a crispness to the air that warned of the return of colder weather.

But that wasn't what was really on his mind.

A couple of clouds drifted together and there was a long fall of cloud cover that looked an awful like Ino's hair.

What was he going to do? Troublesome women. He'd sort of fallen into 'seeing' Temari and he'd never been quite sure how that had actually happened. One minute he was her guide, the next minute they were having dinner together.

And Ino. His teammate had nagged and nagged him about taking her somewhere until he was so tired of it all. Then he'd come back from a mission so exhausted that he had ended up eating out with her, it was easier to give in than to fight her. They'd finished the evening walking back toward their homes together. How they'd ended up holding hands, he was never quite sure.

For a supposed genius, he was an idiot.

He figured Asuma was probably laughing his ass off at him from heaven.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata stopped in the front part of the shop, looking around anxiously. Relieved, she noted that there were only a few customers looking at various items. If there had been too many people there, she probably would have turned around and run.

Chouji was over at the counter talking with the leathersmith.

One by one, her steps brought her closer and closer to the young Akamichi. And though her inner voice was screaming to run away, Hinata didn't listen. Not this time. There was no way she wasn't going through with this. There was no way she was facing the other girls without having at least tried. And there was certainly no way she was going to tell her father that she'd never actually asked Chouji to the Winter Festival.

"It's my favorite, and I'd hate to replace it." She overheard Chouji telling the master tanner. "But it keeps bulging on this side. I've reinforced it, but …you can see for yourself."

The tanner nodded, kneading the weapons pouch that Chouji had handed to him. He grunted as his fingers ran over the smooth leather.

Hinata opened her mouth to say hello, when a voice behind her whipped through the air with the force of a winter storm.

"Excuse me!" A civilian woman said, her voice grating and coarse. "I was here first! It's rude to give preferential treatment to children over customers of quality!"

Hinata hunched her shoulders slightly as everyone turned to look at the woman behind her. She knew theoretically that they weren't looking at HER per se, still she hated all those eyes looking in her direction just when she was trying to gather up her courage to talk with Chouji.

The master tanner, however, looked unfazed. "I'll be with you in a moment, ma'am." He said coolly.

"But I was here first!" The woman demanded, stomping one foot in agitation.

"But you were looking at wares, and not seeking assistance at the counter." Hinata couldn't believe that was her voice speaking. She turned to look apologetically at the woman. "You may go ahead of me, though." In truth, she just wanted out of there all of a sudden. Panic filled her, and only the baleful glare of the rude customer kept her standing still.

"No impertinence!" She held up some leather goods. "The last place I went had pieces that looked as good as these, but when I got them home they were full of flaws."

The tanner shook his head politely. "You will find no such flaws in our leather goods."

Hinata saw Chouji nodding. Both of them knew that nearly every ninja in town used this tanner. He was simply the best.

The woman sniffed. "Likely story. Now. I want your honest opinion on these before I make my purchase, and inspect them for flaws. For you shall be sure I will do so!"

The tanner drew up, affronted. "Ma'am. I wouldn't put flawed items out for customers."

"You're rude." The woman announced and tossed the items half-hazardly on a nearby surface. Hinata winced at the shrillness of the woman's voice as she continued. "I don't buy from rude personages."

Hinata blinked as the woman turned and left. She let out a huge sigh of relief as the door shut with a 'thud' of finality.

"Thank goodness." A soft voice said, just to her left.

Hinata caught her breath and turned to look up at Chouji's profile as he too watched the door. "She was something else." He continued.

The purple-haired kunoichi nodded, unable to speak.

"I'll be with you in a moment, young lady." The tanner called to her. "I just have to take care of this for the young man."

Hinata turned, "Oh, but I don't need anything." She said quickly, but not quite quickly enough. The tanner had already went into the back of the shop.

"Why are you here, then? I mean, if you didn't need anything?" Chouji asked in his normal jovial manner.

Hinata turned to look at him. She blinked. Then she wondered if she'd ever _seen_ Chouji before in her entire life.

He was big. Not fat, just very large. Large in a comforting sense. His smile was warm and his eyes reflected his good humor. He no longer wore his headband protector like they'd done as genin, and she liked seeing his hair free like that. In fact, always before he'd been kind of moon-faced. But now his body had grown into his head and he looked rather …rather nice. In every sense of the word.

"Er, thanks Hinata." Chouji said, looking at her oddly.

A blush stole up her cheeks as she realized that she'd just told him he looked 'nice'. Nervous, not knowing what to do with her hands, her fingers came out and she touched the tips of her index fingers together.

For his part, Chouji was completely and utterly confused. Sure, this was the Hinata he'd always known. But what she was doing right now, was something she usually reserved only for Naruto. In fact, over the years he'd been happy to see her blossom into a competent kunoichi. Only Naruto could reduce her to blushes and nervous habits anymore.

He looked around the store, but didn't see the loud blond anywhere.

Hinata suddenly realized what her hands were doing and she clenched her fists and forced her hands to drop to her sides. "I …I …er, I came to ask you something."

"Oh, oh sure, Hinata." Chouji said, relieved. Now it all made sense. She was nervous because she was about to ask for a favor. She should know better though. They'd been on enough missions together over the years that she should know he'd help her out any way he could.

"It's about the Winter Festival." Hinata said quietly, her eyes dropping to somewhere in the region of his chin.

Chouji laughed brightly and shook his finger at her. "I didn't know you were on the festival committee! And no, I'm not dancing in one of those get-ups they have every year. Just about anything else though, I'm good for."

"Oh, well. Fine." Hinata said blankly, before she connected what he was saying to reality. Oh, he meant one of the costumed dancers for the entertainment. "No, oh no. I didn't mean that. I'm …I'm not on the committee or anything."

"No?" Chouji said, still smiling down at her. He could smell the scent from her hair, soft lilacs. It was a scent he always associated with her. Not only did she wear that scent, but the pale pigment of her eyes had always reminded him of that color. Shikamaru had called her nearly-colorless gaze 'white' before, but Chouji had always reckoned they were more like the soft tint of lilac.

"I ….Iwantedtoknowifyou'regoing." Hinata said quickly, her words all smushed together as her blush deepened.

"What?" Chouji asked, chuckling as he gently nudged her with his side. "I didn't catch that."

Hinata raised her eyes up to his and she gulped. There was a beat of silence, and then she said it. "I wanted to know if you're going to the festival. No, no, no. I wanted to know if you would go to …if you would go …if you would take ….me."

There. It was out. Hinata's blush fell away as she actually went a bit pale. But her eyes never moved from Chouji's gaze. She watched his eyes widen in surprise, then saw him swallow nervously.

"Me?" He asked, almost as if he was sure she was looking at the wrong person. Then he closed his eyes and sighed. He put his hands on her shoulders, holding her gently. "Hinata, if you want to make Naruto notice you. You don't have to go to the festival with someone else. Just ask him. Like you did just then."

Hinata shook her head almost violently, her long dark tresses tickling the backs of his hands. "I didn't ask him. I'm not going to ask him. I'm over that. I …I haven't heard you answer though."

Taken aback, Chouji's mind was a storm of indecision. Did she mean that? Wait, of course she did. This was Hinata, not Ino. There were no games, no subterfuge. Not with Hinata. "You really mean it." He said in soft wonder.

"If you don't want to, I understand. We don't have to mention it again." She told him quickly, her stomach fluttering wildly.

"No, no. I want to go." He said just as quickly. "With you, I mean. Are you sure you want to go with me?"

Hinata nodded shyly, a smile teasing the corners of her lips. "I want you to take me to the festival. Will you?"

Chouji nodded, hoping she couldn't tell how badly she'd shaken him. "I'll look forward to it." He said almost in a whisper.

"Me too." She whispered back to him. This time, when she smiled, it was real and it was infectious. He smiled back. She grinned and his smile grew into a grin. He chuckled lightly and she echoed it, the happy peal of her small laughter lighting up the room.

"I'll have to make a new weapons bag for you sir, this one is stretching too badly. Sir? Sir?" The tanner said. "Oh young man?"

Chouji never looked his way. Hinata giggled and pointed behind him. "I think he's talking to you."

"What? Oh! Right, right." Chouji chuckled nervously and turned to the tanner. "Yes?"

"I'll see you later, then?" Hinata said, backing away from him toward the door.

"Oh wait, do you have to go now?" Chouji asked, once more ignoring the indignant master tanner who was still trying to get his attention.

Hinata nodded shyly, but still smiled. "I have to meet with Kurenai and Kiba shortly, we have a mission leaving tomorrow."

"Oh! Right, good. Yes." Chouji nodded. "I understand. But I'll see you when you get back, yah?"

"Hai." She agreed happily, her smile almost bubbly.

Chouji watched her leave with a mixture of awe, amusement, shock, disbelief, and a feeling of elation that threatened to make him want to jump up and down in delight. Manfully, he restrained himself to a smile and a wave.

A cough from the tanner brought him back down to reality. "Oh, yeah. Sorry about that."

"Really." The tanner sniffed at such rude behavior.

Chouji, though, would not be deterred. "I have a date for the Winter Festival." He couldn't stop smiling.

The tanner looked at him, then looked at the door where the young lady had just exited. He sighed in understanding and shook his head slightly. "She's lovely." He told the young ninja with a smile. "You're a lucky man."

Chouji nodded. "Yes. Yes I am." He said, although there was still a part of him that wondered if this was all real.

The door opened again and Chouji wheeled around. He saw Hinata and his heart dropped into his boots. She'd just realized she'd made a mistake and was going to back out of it, he was sure.

"I forgot!" Hinata said, looking worried. "There's a Hyuuga luncheon before the festival, at the residence. You'll need to come to that too. Please?" She watched him, as if afraid he'd turn her down.

Chouji's broken heart healed and then melted all over the place. The way she'd said 'please', just like she expected him to argue it. She was as nervous about this as he was! He smiled at her and nodded. "I'll be there."

"With your parents?"

"Of course." He said blithely, watching her smile blossom into something really special.

"Wonderful!" She breathed out and then grinned, closing the door behind her once more.

Chouji turned around, completely bemused. The tanner had to wave his hand in front of his customer's eyes a few times to regain his attention. "You've got it bad."

"Yeah." Chouji said, his eyes still a bit glazed.

"A date. With your parents there at her residence? That's serious business." The tanner said, whistling under his breath.

"Yeah." Chouji repeated, then blinked hard. "Wait. What? _Parents_?" In his mind he replayed what he'd just agreed to. Parents? At the Hyuuga residence?

All of a sudden his hands trembled just slightly. This wasn't a mistake.

He was now officially dating Hyuuga Hinata. Him. Akamichi Chouji. And Hinata.

"Oh." Was all he could manage.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata ran all the way back to the café in a daze.

The other girls started grinning and clapping as she took her seat. They didn't have to ask how it had gone, it was written all over Hinata's beaming face.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru arrived at the designated restaurant on time. But Temari wasn't there yet. He sighed and selected a corner booth. He didn't need anyone telling Ino that he was seen out with the Sand kunoichi.

He had an excuse ready if asked. Since he was technically Temari's official escort, being seen out with her was no big deal.

Still, he felt like a fraud. He needed to tell her that they couldn't see each other again. Then he'd tell the same thing to Ino. There. Problem solved.

It wasn't like he needed troublesome women in his life after all.

o.o.o.o.o

The girls bid goodbye to Hinata and TenTen. The Hyuuga kunoichi really did have a mission to prepare for and TenTen was supposed to be training that afternoon.

Once it was down to the remaining three of them, Ino looked over at Temari. "What time are you supposed to be meeting him?"

"Five minutes ago." The Sand girl said sadly. "Part of me wants to go, just to beat him black and blue."

"No." Sakura sat upright suddenly. "I have a better plan."

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? REVIEWS would be nice ...what do you think so far?**


	4. Troublesome

Ino was straightening Temari's robes as the Sand kunoichi kept batting her hands away. "Leave me alone, you have your own part in this to get ready for."

Both blondes eyed each other nervously. Could they trust each other? When it came to Shikamaru, were they really on the same page? Temari took a deep breath. Basically, what it came down to was that even if Ino betrayed her and ended up with Nara, she could live with that. He'd proven himself to be a two-timing bastard. So what did she care? Besides, she could always come back later and kill them both.

Ino's mind was running parallel to the Sand kunoichi's as she tweaked the line of the other girl's robe once more. "Remember. Stall, flirt, and stall some more. Go to the bathroom when you get the signal. Right?"

Temari swallowed nervously, then flashed a cocky grin. "I've faced down two S-ranked missions this year, so this is nothing in comparison." _Yeah right_.

Sakura looked around nervously, beckoning to the two blondes to hurry it up. "Come on, it's a good thing Shikamaru is too lazy to get up and leave just because his date is late. He's still there. But hurry up, I've got to get moving on my part in this too, ya know!"

"Right!" Temari said, straightening up, her eyes flashing with anticipation. "Part one, coming right up!" She nodded to the other two girls, then marched into the restaurant.

Ino sighed. "Think she can do it?"

"I'm more worried about your part in this." Sakura admitted ruefully, looking over at her long-time friend and some-times rival. "You have to work fast."

"I know, I know!" Ino groused, frowning deeply. "You need to hurry too, you may have the hardest part in this. Think he'll come?"

Sakura shrugged. "I'll find out soon enough!"

o.o.o.o.o

Akamichi Chouji headed home almost in a daze. He couldn't stop grinning.

"Ossu!" A voice yelling at him finally caught Chouji's attention. Blinking, he turned to see Kiba and Shino leaning against a fence with Akamaru cleaning himself at their feet. "You look happy." Kiba called to him.

"Hey there." Chouji walked over to the duo, his grin showing no signs of diminishing. "What gives? Hey, I thought you were meeting with Kurenai about a mission?"

Kiba nodded, grimacing. "Yeah, but before we could finish planning how to infiltrate the target's house, it burned down. Crisped. Got the message about it a few moments ago. Kurenai and the Hokage are going over how this changes the mission parameters while they assigned Hinata to look through some old records and see if this guy has property anywhere else he might head toward. Then we're all heading out to check to see if this fire was natural or not."

Shino nodded, but remained silent.

Chouji smiled at the young Aburame heir. "Thought you wouldn't be back for a few days. Does this mean you'll be heading out with your teammates?"

The bug-ninja sighed and shook his head. "No."

Kiba laughed, and elbowed a disgruntled Shino. "What he means is he got a real simple cut, and now is under orders to stay home and rest for a few days."

Chouji raised an eyebrow at this. Simple cuts didn't sideline ninja of their abilities. There had to be more to the story.

Shino stepped out of the way of Kiba's elbows and shook his head. "I was in a swamp area when it happened. Infection. Nothing major."

Kiba grinned and shook his head. "Listen at the stoic! Nothing major he says, you should see his leg, Chouji. Red and swollen all the way up past the knee. He actually limps! Oh, hey listen. We're going out to eat before I get called back to the Hokage tower. You want to come?"

"Nah." Chouji said, not even seeing the stunned disbelief in Kiba's eyes since he was looking at the Hokage tower in the distance. Where Hinata was currently ensconced.

Shino's surprise couldn't be seen beneath his concealing sunglasses, but he stiffened slightly as he looked at the larger ninja. "Are you alright?" He asked bluntly. It wasn't like the Akimichi to turn down a dinner invite.

Chouji looked at them and blushed slightly as he grinned. "I'm better than alright."

Kiba and Shino exchanged a look, then returned their gazes toward their large friend quizzically.

Chouji laughed and shook his head at them in a jovial manner. "I have to head home, I can get something to eat there as I try to think up just the right host gift."

"Wine." Shino said quickly. "Wine's always a good choice."

"Fruit basket." Kiba shook his head. "Not everyone likes wines."

"No, no. Something more personal, without being too forward." Chouji said, his smile dimming slightly as he returned to the fact that he had no idea what to bring to the Hyuuga leader as a host gift.

"What's the occasion?" Shino asked logically, then he and Kiba both watched as Chouji blushed. "Is this a date?" He asked, feeling a bit incredulous, and even a tad ...jealous?

Chouji looked away, then nodded sheepishly. "I've got a date for the Winter Festival, but before we go there's a family luncheon with our parents."

Kiba nodded sagely, having gone this route before. "Oh, an arranged thing. Just let your parents bring the gift and come out to eat with us. No big thing."

"No." Chouji sighed, but his grin was returning. "No. This wasn't arranged by our parents. In fact, I haven't even told mine about it yet."

"Who is it?" Kiba asked curiously as Shino nodded, also wanting to know. "Maybe between the two of us we know of her family and can give you some clue as to what would be a good gift."

Chouji though, had realized suddenly that he was speaking with both of Hinata's teammates. He knew them to be friends together, but what if they objected? Still, he wasn't going to play the coward. "Hinata."

Shino's hand on the fence actually slipped a little and he nearly stumbled, but caught his balance quickly. Kiba's jaw dropped, then he grinned widely and slapped Chouji on the back. "Wow!"

"And it wasn't arranged?" Shino asked quietly.

Chouji's smiled faded a bit around the edges. "No. She came up to me and asked. Said she was done pining after ….well, you know. Said she wanted me to take her to the festival." He paused and looked at the two ninja. "You don't think her father put her up to this, do you?"

Kiba shrugged, unsure. Shino frowned a moment. "Did she act nervous?"

Chouji nodded, then shook his head. "Yes, but not really. She blushed a bit, but didn't turn and faint like we've seen her do before. She seemed completely open."

Kiba and Shino exchanged a look, then shrugged at each other. The Inuzuka looked over at Chouji, clapping one hand on the larger shinobi's shoulder. "Doesn't sound like she was being pushed."

"Hinata is very honest. Sweet. She wouldn't ask you if she didn't mean it." Shino said finally. "I honestly didn't know she was looking your way, but she doesn't talk about who she likes or stuff like that. Actually, I think I like the idea of the two of you going out."

"You're not upset are you?" Chouji asked the two of them. "I mean, you weren't looking at her like that …were you?"

Kiba grinned and shook his head. "She's like a sister." He asserted, and Shino nodded as well. "We'll hunt you down if you hurt her, of course. Beyond that, we trust you to treat her well. Maybe I'll even see you at there, since I have my own date for the Winter Festival."

Now Shino's eyebrow shot up over the cover of his sunglasses as he eyed his teammate. "You didn't tell me."

The dog-nin shook his head ruefully. "Still trying to let it sink in that it's real. We had a date set up for tonight too, I was just going to run over to her house and leave her a message about my mission. I hate to break it, but missions are unavoidable."

Shino grimaced. "It's not easy to keep dates set in advance, what with being shinobi. I hope she understands."

This time it was Kiba who looked away, almost like he was a bit embarrassed. "No, she's good. She knows about being a ninja."

"Kunoichi?" Chouji asked, a bit surprised. There weren't that many unattached young kunoichi available. He tried to think of who it might be.

"Sakura." Kiba said, as he watched the surprise bloom on the faces of his companions. "I know, I know! But hey …she asked me!"

Chouji laughed and slapped the dog-nin on the back. "Seems like there's a lot of that going around. Hinata and Sakura asking out guys, who would have thought? Shino, how about you? Anyone asking you out yet?"

The Aburame snorted slightly. "Hardly. Remember? Girls and bugs don't usually mix well. Besides, I don't think this is a trend. This is just a coincidence that the girls asked you both out. The Winter Festival is coming up, that's all."

Kiba grinned. "You bet. Sakura probably finally realized that she could do better than Sasuke, and Hinata finally woke up and saw what a great guy Chouji is."

Shino nodded then looked over at the Akimichi. "As for a host gift for Lord Hiashi, I can't say we know him well. But I'd suggest a GOOD wine and a LARGE fruit basket."

Kiba laughed and nodded. "Winter melons are always a good choice."

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru gave a soft grunt that might have been a 'hello' or a 'where the hell have you been'. Temari ignored him as she slid into the corner booth, moving in close to him.

"You're late." He said plainly. "Everything alright?"

"It is now." The kunoichi told him, smiling so he might miss her evasive anwer. "Especially now that I'm here. With you."

Shikamaru stared into her eyes a moment and felt his heartbeat speed up a bit. For a moment he forgot that he was going to break it off with her tonight. There was just something about her, a certain spark, that made time spent with her so comfortable. Even when she was being troublesome. Exciting. He decided it was because you never knew what you were going to get with her. Tart or sweet, you just never knew.

With deep misgivings, he motioned the waiter over and the couple placed their order. Once they were alone again, Temari leaned in closer to him. He could smell the scent that was all her own. Damn, he was going to miss her. Maybe he should break it off with her tomorrow instead. After all, a scene in the restaurant would be far too troublesome.

"Listen, Shikamaru." Temari said after they'd eaten the main part of their dinner. "I have a confession to make."

"Let me guess, you killed Naruto?"

Temari blinked twice in astonishment, then grinned as she shook her head. "Sometimes tempting, but no. He can be ….energetic at times."

Shikamaru nodded, then gestured for her to continue. "So, you're planning on killing me and I just ingested poison?"

Again with the double blink. Finally Temari pursed her lips. "_More_ tempting, but no." Shikamaru paused a moment, there had been something odd about her voice just then, but he couldn't pin it down as she was still speaking.

"No. I spoke with my brother." Temari paused, peering anxiously into his eyes.

Shikamaru stopped, his mind racing even though his body was completely still.

"About us, I mean. I spoke with him about us."

The shadow-nin tried to take a deep breath, and fell to coughing as his lungs nearly seized up. It took a moment, and Temari pounding on his back, before he could catch his breath. "Oh shit, ease up there Temari, I think you're trying to push my shoulder blades out my chest."

Grimacing, she settled back with another strange look on her face.

"So. You really are trying to kill me? But poisons are too good for you, so you sic your brother on me?" Shikamaru panted, giving her a baleful look.

Temari shook her head, still with that odd look in her eyes. "If I wanted you dead, I'd do it myself." Then she grinned suddenly and shook her head. "Besides, Kankuro said he was all for it. Us I mean. I mean, I had to talk him around, but …"

Shikamaru nodded, feeling more relieved than he cared to admit. "Oh, THAT brother."

"No, I didn't tell Gaara." Temari paused as Shikamaru nodded and took a sip of tea. "Kankuro did that for me." She said, then acted all solicitous as he sprayed his tea out over the table.

"The Kazekage knows?" Shikamaru finally asked, feeling distinctly queasy. He groaned as Temari peered out at him and nodded slowly. "And so he's coming to kill me?"

"No." Temari said and put her hand over his. He should have been reassured, but something about her expression had him wanting to run in the opposite direction. "He, uh …well, Gaara wants to meet with your parents. And us."

Shikamaru's heart seized a second, skipping a beat or two. "My parents?"

"About setting a date." Temari frowned over at him. "Are you okay?"

"No, I feel faint." He said in almost a whisper. "Are we talking wedding date?"

Temari shook her head. "No."

Shikamaru took a deep breath and started to relax, at least until she started speaking again.

"A betrothal date."

"Shit!" Shikamaru drew back suddenly, striking his head against the wall behind him. "Why? Why would your brother …think that a date …why would …" He sputtered out, not sure how to express his horror without hurting her feelings.

Temari looked away from him, playing with napkin. Shikamaru's eyes narrowed on her. "What did you do?"

The blond kunoichi sighed. "I told you I had to talk Kankuro around to accepting us, right? Well, I sort of told him that I was in love with you. Just to get him to quit nagging me about seeing you."

Shikamaru sighed despondently. "That's all?"

Temari shook her head, shooting him another odd glance. "Well, I'd told him that …we'd been together already. Intimately." She paused. "It's not a lie, I mean, I want to be with you like that."

"It is a lie!" Shikamaru snarled, looking desperate. "It's a lie that will get me killed!"

Temari shook her head at him, capturing his hand in hers. "No. It'll keep us together, it was a lie to keep my brothers from forbidding me to see you. Gaara's going to talk to the Hokage about me emigrating and everything will be fine. Perfect."

"Perfect." He echoed absently, feeling numb.

Temari looked up from his face, then smiled and patted his hand. He watched as she leaned in toward him. "I've got to run to freshen up a moment. I won't be long."

Shikamaru nodded automatically, his mind a frozen field of nothingness.

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji stared at his mother in consternation. He ran over to get her a handkerchief, then got three more just in case. His mother, weeping, grabbed him around the shoulders instead of taking the proffered hanky. "Mom?"

"Give up, son." Choza said in good humor as he watched his son ineffectually try and stop his mother's river of tears while being hugged mercilessly.

"But …but …what's wrong?" Chouji asked anxiously as he held his still wailing mother.

Choza sighed and put his wallet on the table. It disappeared quicker than a snake could strike. "You just made your mother a very happy woman. And me a very poor man."

"Hush up with you." Akamichi Asami chided her husband as she finally slowed the river of tears, blotting at her eyes as she loosened her grip on her son. "Now then. We all need new clothes, and …"

Chouji looked perplexed. "Why? I have plenty of clothes."

"Give up, son." Choza sighed, leaning back smiling. He looked the picture of lazy happiness. Until he watched his wallet disappear into the folds of his wife's robes, then he frowned slightly.

"You'll need something special for the luncheon, of course. You don't want this young lady to think poorly of you, do you?" Asami said, beaming up at her only son.

Chouji tried to protest. "But Hinata already knows what I look like, it's not like we're meeting for the first time. We've known each other for years. We've even been on combined missions together before."

"Give up, son." Choza yawned, still leaning back in his chair.

"Then there's my dress, and new clothes for your father, and the gifts of course." Asami said dreamily as she made mental notes.

Chouji shook his head, a bit lost. "But we have nice clothes already. And we only need one gift, the host gift for Lord Hyuuga."

Choza chuckled. "Just give it up, Chouji."

"No, no, no." Asami scolded her son a moment, then smiled tearfully over at him. "No, you need a festival gift for the young lady as well. And a smaller festival gift for any sisters she might have."

"One. Younger." Chouji said, then shook his head. "Wait …" He looked panicked as his mother got up from the table.

"I need to get in touch with your aunts, they've been through courtship with their own sons. I need to make sure there's nothing I'm missing." Asami bustled out of the room.

Chouji tried to go after her, but his father's hand on his shoulder stopped him cold. "Dad! This is just a date, not a courtship!"

Choza ruffled his son's hair and leaned in closer. "Just a word of advice son."

"Yeah?"

"Give up now." Choza laughed as he went to refill his stew bowl, leaving Chouji sputtering behind him.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari hurried into the ladies room with a sigh of relief. "Finally, I've had to go for at least half an hour already! But if I went then, then he might have gotten suspicious when I got your signal and suddenly had to go again!"

Ino laughed and held up a shopping bag. "Sorry, it took longer than I thought. You would not believe the choices they had."

The Sand kunoichi scowled at her. "This isn't a purchase you're keeping. Wait, are you?"

Ino shrugged. "Probably not. They weren't cheap either, I'll probably return them tomorrow."

"Sakura ready?" Temari asked, since timing was everything.

Ino nodded. "They started out about 4 minutes ago. I rushed over here at top speed. So now, it's my turn?"

Temari nodded. "Give him hell."

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru felt sick to his stomach. The nice meal he'd just shared with Temari was going to go to waste, he just knew it. Betrothed? To be _married_? Like hell!

But …but if he broke up with her, Temari's brothers would probably hunt him down and torture him before he died. _Died screaming_, he added as he remembered that first time he'd met Gaara of the Sand. He shivered at the memory of the cold blooded murder he'd witnessed that time at the arena. Oh sure, the guy had mellowed over the years, especially since losing the demon within him. But Shikamaru doubted he'd take it well if Temari were ditched.

So. Where did that leave him exactly? Did he keep Temari and instead of breaking up with both girls? Get married to avoid sure death and destruction? He sighed. "Troublesome."

"Hey! It IS you!" A voice squealed from somewhere to the right. Shikamaru's blood froze in his veins.

"Ino?" He asked, hoping it wasn't so. No such luck. His blond teammate squealed again, loudly, as every head in the place turned toward them. Shikamaru felt like melting into his seat. "What are you doing here?" He asked, trying to find a way to get rid of her before Temari returned to the table. Shikamaru spotted someone he knew. Embarrassed, he waved to Kakashi, Shizune and Genma who nodded and returned to their own dinner.

"Meeting Sakura for dinner." Ino chirped gaily as she slid into the booth next to him. She eyed the remains of his meal and quirked her head to one side. "You stepping out on me?"

"What? No, no." Shikamaru denied, looking desperate. "Just Temari. I'm still her official guide you know. Konoha business."

Ino shook her head and plopped her shopping bag down next to her. "Stupid. Why does she still need a guide after all these years?"

"She's still a foreigner. I suppose the Hokage just wants to keep tabs on her movements." Shikamru sighed, feeling like a jerk. Shit. He needed to end this farce, and soon. "Look, can I meet you tomorrow for lunch? I have something important to tell you." Sure, like he was breaking it off. Suddenly, he felt awful. Break up with Ino? She may be loud and troublesome, but she was also sweet and fun and lively. Damn it. He didn't want to call it off with either girl. And he HAD to, or else!

"Great! I'd love to meet for lunch." Ino grinned gaily. "Oh, wait until you see what I bought today. Just for you."

Shikamaru groaned, keeping one eye on the blond at his side, and another eye on the lookout for the other blond in his life.

Ino shoved a medium sized box in his hands. He groaned as he saw the name of a well known ladies shop. "Another dress?"

"No, silly. I said it was for you." Ino leaned in, this time her voice nearing a whisper. "Something special just for you."

Unsure and definitely uneasy, Shikamaru pushed the box back toward her. "Tomorrow. Temari will be back in a moment and …"

"And she knows we're seeing each other, right?" Ino waved one hand dismissively. "I won't interrupt official business long. Besides, Sakura looks late. So I'll just hang with the two of you until she gets here."

Doom. Doom descended on him. "No, I don't think that'll be a good idea. We're discussing business. Mission secrets and all that." He tried desperately.

Ino frowned, but nodded. "I see. I'll let you be then."

Shikamaru nodded in stark relief, but only for a second.

"Just check out my present first." Ino said slyly.

Anxious to be rid of her, lest Temari come back and find her at their table, he opened the box. Moving aside tissue, he gasped. "What the hell?"

Ino leaned in and nibbled on his ear. "What do you think? Won't I look hot in that? For you? I think it's time for us to ….get closer."

Shikamaru couldn't believe his eyes. Deep purple lace held together by strings did NOT make an outfit. It made lingerie. Sexy lingerie. Shit, shit, SHIT!

"What's going on here?" Temari asked coolly, looking confused. "Don't you two look …close." She said, her eyes glaring at Ino as the girl's teeth finally let go of Shikamaru's earlobe.

Ino giggled as Shikamaru looked for the nearest exit. As he looked around, his gaze caught that of Genma and the others, who were looking on in confusion. Shit. An audience of unknown civilians was one thing. Why did he have to surrounded by people he actually respected?

The two blond kunoichi started out politely, with hidden barbs. Then they escalated into snarkiness and smart-ass comments. After that the conversation devolved quickly as their voices got louder and louder.

"I leave for a few minutes and come back to you snuggling up to my betrothed? Slut!" Temari fired off the comment coldly.

Ino drew up haughtily. "Betrothed? You wish, you delusional Sand twit." She opened the box on the table and Shikamaru made a grab, but he wasn't fast enough to stop her as Ino through a pair of lacy thong underwear in Temari's face. "Like he would look at you, when he can see me in THAT."

"Look, we've been dating for months, you whore!" Temari shouted, making everyone in the restaurant cringe and look on her with sympathy.

Ino drew back a harsh breath, looking devestated. "But he's been dating me for months too! Said _you_ were nothing but 'official business'. Least, that's what he told me!"

A series of indrawn breaths all around them made Shikamaru feel faint. He was trapped. He opened his eyes to see that everyone was staring at him harshly, condemning him with their eyes.

**"THAT!** That's the face I want you to paint. Large, it needs to copy well." Shikamaru turned to stare at Sakura as she pointed at him. "And at the top, it should read. 'UNDATEABLE' and underneath it print, 'two-timing, dirty dealing, rotten …"

"Bastard." Ino said, kicking Shikamaru beneath the table.

"Asshole." Temari finished, reaching over and dumping the remains of her dinner on his head.

"No." Sakura sighed to the whispered question. "Don't draw him with the food on his head, we want everyone to recognize him."

Sai nodded, glad that he'd allowed Sakura to bully and bribe him into coming after all.

"The picture needs to be good enough that his mother will see it and realize WHY she's never going to have a wedding for her son, or cuddle any grandchildren." Sakura said, peering over Sai's shoulder. "Oh, good …that's good. No, don't make him look pitiful, just stick with the humiliation."

o.o.o.o.o

**Hey, it was longer than I'd anticipated. Hope you don't mind! LOL**

**As always, REVIEWS are both helpful and appreciated!**


	5. Melted Chocolate

Neji paused, his attention caught by the gossipy conversation behind him. Usually he hated that kind of thing, but the names involved were familiar to him. He finished paying for his purchase and waited as the man carefully wrapped up the new sandals. Neji hated shopping, but the strap on his favorite pair of boot-sandals broke this morning and he had no choice.

If he had a small sense of of unease about a broken sandal strap bringing 'bad luck' he just ignored it. He was above such mundane superstitions.

Neji headed back toward the Hyuuga compound wondering about the gossip he'd overheard, stopping only when he his name was called. Turning, he caught sight of Chouji. Perfect. He went over to join the Akamichi as he stood in line at the fruit stall. "Ossu."

Chouji nodded. "Sorry to interrupt your morning, but I was hoping to ask you a question. What do you think would be an appropriate festival gift?"

The Hyuuga was a bit surprised, then he remembered that this was to be Hinata's escort to the Winter Festival. "Oh." Neji paused, looking around the fruit stall. "Lord Hiashi is very proper, but he isn't very picky when it comes to host gifts. Anything is good. He does like winter melons though."

"Good, good." Chouji commented. "But my parents are taking care of that. I meant for Hinata and Hanabi."

Pale eyes widened slightly in surprise. "For ...oh, well ...I don't know. Something girly I suppose, maybe something sweet."

Chouji shook his head. "For Hanabi maybe, I don't know her at all. But I wanted to give Hinata something special."

Neji smiled, shaking his head. "Don't worry so much about it, Hinata will be happy with just about anything."

Frowning, Chouji looked away. He didn't want to give Hinata 'just anything'. Looked like asking her cousin for advice was a bust. He thanked the Hyuuga, but the other young man didn't move away. Chouji looked at him again, waiting to see what else the long-haired youth wanted.

"Uhm. I heard something interesting this morning." Neji started, frowning at himself. "Listen to me, I sound like a girl."

Chouji chuckled. "Can't be helped. Everyone's been asking me about it all morning. Yep. Shikamaru got handed his walking papers. In public, loudly, and in the most embarrassing way possible." He said matter-of-factly.

"Oh." Neji's lips quirked. "By TWO women?"

"Stupid move, that." Chouji nodded absently. "He's fine though. Got up and walked out with his head held high. Food was dripping from his hair but he acted like it was no big deal."

"Good. That would have been the best way to handle it." Neji nodded. "Don't give them the satisfaction of a reaction."

"I don't know." Chouji sighed. "I think it was dumb of such a smart guy to be dating two women at the same time. They're kunoichi. They were bound to find out about it sooner or later."

Neji shook his head. "Mabye." He allowed. "Still, it was awfully bad mannered of them to pull a stunt like that. Kunoichi have no sense of decorum."

"But, but aren't you seeing TenTen?" Chouji asked curiously, looking over at the Hyuuga in surprise. "She's a kunoichi."

Neji laughed. "Oh, TenTen's different. She'd never act like that."

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen sighed, sipping her tea. "I'm sick that you guys left me out of this."

Sakura laughed and lifted her own tea cup in a mock salute. "Sorry. You and Hinata had already left when inspiration struck."

The weapons expert sighed and peered down at the drawing. "This is perfection. I love the expression on his face."

Ino grinned and winked over at Temari. "It was better in person."

The Sand kunoichi sighed. "Did you see his face when he got up? Pure Shikamaru. He just looked bored. I would have preferred he kept that humiliated look."

The other blond nodded. "I know, but at least we did get to him. The jerk."

"I'm going to take the picture to be copied later." Sakura said, peering at it over TenTen's shoulder.

The brunette looked up with a grin. "That'd be great. But, I thought we weren't going to let the guys we are seeing about the whole 'undateable' thing?"

Sakura blinked, her smile fading into a groan. "Oh crap." She sighed, sinking back into her own seat. "I forgot about that. I don't want Kiba to know, it might hurt his feelings."

Ino reached over and pulled Sai's portrait to her. "It's a shame not to spread this around, it's such a wonderful likeness of the idiot."

TenTen tapped her fingertips on the table a moment, frowning. "I don't know if our plan CAN remain a secret. These are shinobi we're dealing with after all."

"Men." Temari snorted. "Still, you have a point. Eventually they'll figure out something is up. If we lie about it, it'll only get messy."

"Well." Sakura gave a half-hearted smile. "I might have already slipped up anyway. I guess I'll have to tell Kiba when he gets back from his mission. I don't want him to find out from someone else."

Ino caught her breath. "Slipped up?"

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Sai didn't want to come with me last night. I kinda told him more than I should have."

"Sai's not a gossip." TenTen pointed out. "We're still safe."

Sakura nodded absently. "Sure, but even after so long he still doesn't really 'get' social situations and what is and isn't to be said. He might let it all slip and not even realize it." Then she flashed a grin, looking a bit embarrassed. "Besides, I told him he was on our 'alternate' list."

"He is?" Ino blinked, unsure

Sakura shrugged. "He is now. Spur of the moment nomination."

Temari blinked, then started laughing. "You didn't."

Ino grinned, shaking her head. "Lee and Sai. It's all the more reason to make it work with the guys we drew originally."

"Sai's not so bad." Sakura said, smiling slyly at her friends. "He and Lee are both strong shinobi, and you'll always know where you stand with them."

"Point." Ino allowed reluctantly, even as she kept her smile. "But that's all the incentive I need to try and make it work out with a certain Kazekage. Though how I'll get him alone to ask him out, I don't know."

"Already taken care of." Temari said smugly. "For TenTen and Kankuro too." She smiled around the table. "I went to the Hokage and arranged for you two to escort my brothers when they get to the village. It's a mission too, although very low ranked."

Sakura laughed, nearly slipping off her chair. "Oh my! If Tsunade knew what you two have planned, then she'd up the mission ranking!"

Ino bit her lip to keep from laughing, but caught TenTen's eye and the two dissolved into laughter as well. Still, she couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.

Asking Gaara out? Ino was beyond second thoughts, she was more like on three-thousandth thoughts. Lee and Sai weren't so bad, were they?

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara sneezed. Matsuri rushed over to hand him a handkerchief, but he waved her off.

Kankuro grinned, shaking his head. "I thought she'd grown out of the fan-girl stage?"

"It's better than it was." Gaara said dourly, then looked over at the others. "Break time over, let's get moving."

The Suna contingent gathered up the remains from their break to continue the trip to Konoha.

o.o.o.o.o

Aburame Shino finished his workout with a grimace. He hated convalescing and he'd pushed himself too hard, now his leg was aching. Stupid infection. Irritated, he turned, slinging his pack onto his back. That's when he noticed he was being watched.

Temari. Wind kunoichi from Suna. He'd known when she'd arrived at the training field, of course. But somehow it had never occurred to him that she was there for any reason but to train or to meet someone else. Stupid assumptions. Being injured was no excuse, he should have been paying more attention.

"You're limping."

Shino flushed slightly and was glad for his high collar, hopefully she hadn't noticed. It rankled that she'd perceived him as weak right now, regardless of the reason. He grunted, but didn't answer. Under the protection of his sunglasses, he watched her while pretending he wasn't looking at her at all.

"Hinata's out on a mission." He said gruffly.

"I know."

He heard her response clearly. Her Suna accent giving her words an unusual sound. He always liked hearing her speak, though he'd never admit it. Not saying anything, he started toward her, having to pass by where she was standing in order to go back to the village.

"I'm not looking for Kiba either." She said in her usual straight-foward manner. "Just in case you were wondering."

"I wasn't." He asserted, not exactly truthfully. "You have a message for me?"

"No." She said, giving him a quirky little smile that could mean anything, or nothing at all. He waited, but she didn't expand on her one word answer. But as he drew up beside her, she stepped in front of him. Shino stopped and looked at her, once more glad for his dark glasses.

They stood there like that for one long minute, neither speaking. Shino started frowning as Temari's smile grew.

"What do you want?" He broke first. He wondered if she was going to ask him for a favor, but couldn't think of what she'd need from him. Then Shino remembered what he'd heard this morning and his eyes narrowed on her. "If this is about Nara ..."

"It's not." Temari said, her smile fading at the reminder of the two-timing bastard.

"We're not exactly chummy, but I won't do anything to help you and Ino get back at him." Shino finished, sure he was on the right track.

The blond kunoichi crossed her arms, her expression turning stubborn as she glared at him. "We don't need you to get back at him. We did that fine on our own."

"I heard." Shino said slowly, unsure of her mood or reasons for approaching him. And while he was slightly sympathetic for the other male, the bug-nin couldn't believe such a smart shinobi had been trying to date two kunoichi at the same time. "I won't say he was right, but that was a bit harsh."

"No. It wasn't." Temari snapped, then forced herself to relax. "I'm not here about Shikamaru anyway. That's done and over with."

"Then why are you here?" Shino asked plainly.

Temari grinned and dropped her gaze, then looked back up straight into his eyes. It wasn't an attack, but suddenly Shino felt like he was a target in a situation he didn't understand. "I want to ask you to be my escort to the Winter Festival."

Shino felt like his stomach dropped to his feet. Damn. She _was _looking at getting back at Shikamaru. "This won't make him jealous. He's not the type for that."

"I know." Temari said, frowning as her eyes flashed irritation. "I told you, this isn't about him. Besides, if this was just to get back at him I wouldn't ask you to an event a month away."

The Aburame felt like he was standing on quicksand. "I don't understand."

Temari's look softened as she looked over at him. "Fine. Simple answer. I want you to take me to the Winter Festival. As a date."

"Date?" Shino echoed, lost.

The blond grinned. "Date. Like you and me out together."

"You and me?" He repeated, still trying to understand her motive. "Why?"

"Why not?" She replied, arching an eyebrow. "Am I not worthy enough for you to escort?"

"No, I mean ...yes." Shino stammered, feeling like Hinata all of a sudden as his cheeks flushed a bit more. "But ..." Then all of a sudden he stiffened. Hinata. She'd asked out Chouji. And Kiba had been asked out by Sakura. For the Winter Festival.

Temari took an involuntary step back as Shino's expression darkened. "What are you girls up to? First Chouji and Kiba, now me? We're not toys."

The Sand kunoichi sighed. "I knew it would come out sooner or later, and I'm glad you're smart enough to spot the pattern."

"Pattern?" Shino snapped at her, gripping the strap on his pack hard enough for his knuckles to whiten slightly. He was angry, and deep down he was disappointed she hadn't been serious about wanting to go to the festival with him. "Why are you girls setting us up? WHAT are you setting us up for?" He felt a bit sick. "We didn't do anything to you all."

Temari looked at him, and shook her head. "You don't get it at all, do you? This isn't about getting back at you, any of you."

Shino actually growled. "Then what do you want from us?"

"Dates."

Surprised, Shino opened his mouth, but found he was clueless as to what to ask next.

Taking pity on him, Temari took his arm and led him over to the side of the path and sat on a small bench. He joined her, not knowing what else to do.

Finally, he looked over at her. "This is to get back at Nara?"

"No." Temari shook her head. "Though I can't blame you for thinking that. The thing in the restaurant was it for taking revenge. Probably anyway. That and naming him 'undateable'."

Shino nodded, though he really wasn't sure what was going on. "I heard that word mentioned, something about a picture."

"Ino and I found out about Shikamaru being a double-timing, bastard of a jerk."

Shino grunted, but was smart enough not to defend Nara. "So neither you nor Ino will ever date him again?" He finally managed to say.

Temari nodded. "None of the kunoichi will, at least none of us from your rookie year." She then roughly outlined the girl's plan. When she was done, she looked over at Shino, wondering how he'd respond.

"Sasuke and Shikamaru I understand." Shino finally said, still trying to work through everything. "And I'm glad Hinata's over Naruto at last. But why is he 'undateable'?"

"Being blind to her. For stepping on her feelings, even if he didn't know he was doing it. Still, he's not on the list permanently like the others. He's on probation." Temari told him, deliberately leaving off Neji's name. No need for the Hyuuga to get advance word before TenTen was ready to inform him of his new status.

Shino nodded, feeling like the world was spinning the wrong direction. "And you all drew names?" He asked, stupefied.

"No. I didn't." Temari sighed, knowing this was the point she might lose him. "Hinata and the others did."

"Poor Chouji. He was so excited." Shino sighed. "I never thought Hinata would be so cold."

"Cold?" Temari bit out as she punched Shino's arm. "She wasn't being cold."

"She pulled his name out of a damn hat!" He growled, refusing to rub the sting from her punch. He wouldn't give her the satisfaction.

Temari grinned and shook her head. "It was a tea cup, not a hat. And Hinata had the choice not to take his name. She kept it. Then we offered to let her not ask him, knowing she was shy. Hinata asked out Chouji because she wanted to and for no other reason. And you have no idea how excited she is about it too."

"Really?" Shino settled down a bit as he realized he should have known his teammate better than to think she'd play games like this. Then he took a deep breath. "Kiba?"

Temari shrugged. "I'm not sure Sakura would have looked in his direction if not for our agreement. But she's excited too. She was so disappointed that he had to go on that mission and miss their first real date."

"This isn't a game?" He asked, wondering about Temari's feelings about asking _him_ out. Obviously she wouldn't have if not for a game of chance.

"No." Temari cocked her head to one side. "Do you always wear those?" She reached for his glasses, but he pulled away sharply. "Tsk. Fine. And this is no game. We may have gone about this wrong, but all we want is to date someone who doesn't treat us like ...well like we'll be ignored, taken for granted, cheated on, and so on."

"You chose us by putting our names in a hat." Shino muttered, his tone disapproving. "Sorry, a tea cup."

Temari shrugged. "I didn't."

"No?"

"No." She said firmly. "I didn't pull your name."

Shino nodded, swallowing hard. His name had probably been the one left over.

Temari grinned. "Since I have two brothers in the mix, the other girls gave me first choice."

"You drew first?" Shino asked, catching his breath. Had she been happy with his name? No. No, she couldn't have been. The Aburame kikai bugs usually kept the women firmly at bay. Unfortunately.

"I thought you were sharper than that." Temari teased, leaning in closer to him. "I told you, I had first choice. Not first draw. I chose you. I didn't pick you name, I deliberately chose ...you."

Shino stared at her a long moment as reality fragmented and then came back together. "Me? But ...but going out with me doesn't get back at Nara."

"Stop trying to bring Shika-jerk into this. No. Dating you gains me nothing. Except _you _as a date, or several dates." Temari said calmly then reached for his glasses again.

Shino was too bemused to stop her and held his breath as she drew his sunglasses off his face. He blinked at her, unsure.

Temari caught her breath. "Melted chocolate."

"What?"

"Your eyes. Suddenly I have more of an appreciation for chocolate." Temari grinned as she stared into the depths of his gaze. She shivered a bit. "I knew you were good looking, but why in the world were you hiding these?"

Shino was finding it hard to breathe. _Good looking_? "What about the bugs?" He asked, then could have kicked himself for bringing up the kikai.

"What about them?" Temari said, reaching out to push his collar down so she could see his mouth.

"Right." Shino whispered, feeling more exposed than ever before in his life as she stared at his bare face. His heart sped up as she smiled at him. A real smile, not one of her mocking smiles. She looked ...almost ...tender? Shit. "I'm in trouble."

Temari grinned and nodded. "Now. Are you going to take me to the Winter Festival?"

Shino found himself nodding before his mind could even assimilate the question.

Temari scooted closer to him, looking up into his dark-eyed gaze. "I really like your eyes."

Shino's mouth opened, but nothing came out. He looked at her face so close to his own. He breathed in, smelling the clean scent of soap. No perfumes for Temari. The clean smell suited her more than anything floral would have, he decided. Not thinking he leaned in closer and ran his lips lightly over hers.

Temari drew back, looking shocked. Her fingertips rising to her lips. "Wow. You move fast." Her stomach fluttering a bit.

Shino swallowed, wondering if he'd just ruined it all.

"How about a first date to go with a first kiss?" She said, her fingertips rising to her lips as she stared at him a bit stunned. "I mean, I ...we barely know each other. I'd like a chance to change that though, that is ...if you really want to go out with me?"

The question caught the bug-nin by surprise. _If he wanted to go out with her_? He watched her face and every instinct he had as a ninja said she was being truthful. "Why wouldn't I want to take you out?"

This time it was Temari who flushed slightly, taking Shino by surprise. Didn't she know how pretty she was? How much he admired her strength, determination, skills, and ...no ...no she didn't. She was looking ...unsure of him?

Suddenly, Shino felt like he was king of the world. "I would like nothing better than to ask you out. If you're serious about wanting to go out with me."

Temari grinned suddenly, and it was if the sun came out from behind the clouds.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji sparred with Hanabi as his uncle watched, correcting her stance here and there. Finally, the younger girl was worn out and they took a break. Neji ran the towel over his face.

"I ran into Akamichi earlier today. He wanted to know about gifts for the Winter Festival. For the girls." Neji said. "Both girls."

Hiashi grunted as he got ready to spar with his nephew himself. "He's a good boy. Nice family. I would expect nothing less."

"Old-fashioned." Neji said as he got back up to head into the center of the practice ring.

Hiashi stood there as both Hyuuga activated the Byakugan. They fell into the family fighting stance, each measuring the other carefully. It was a long time before either spoke again as they finished and stepped back out of the practice area. Neji winced and rotated his shoulder. His uncle still had the moves.

"Old-fashioned isn't necessarily wrong. You'd do well to remember that." Hiashi said, taking a drink of water as he picked up the conversation casually.

Neji grunted noncommittally. He didn't argue the point, though he didn't necessarily agree.

"What are you getting TenTen for the festival?" Hiashi asked as the two finished their break and stepped back into the practice area.

Neji didn't answer, but settled immediately into the gentle fist fighting style. The question flowing away from him as he concentrated on the match. Afterwards, he and his uncle picked over their sparring contest, pointing out ways to improve the movements and close openings. Afterwards, they headed in to clean up for supper.

It wasn't until Neji was almost through dinner that he recalled the question. He sighed and kept eating, his mind completely at ease. He was lucky to have TenTen, she was so easygoing. Things like festival gifts just didn't mean anything to her. He pitied Shikamaru a bit, glad TenTen wasn't anything like Ino or that Temari.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen sneezed.

"Someone thinking about you?" Ino handed her a tissue as the two girls continued going over strategies for asking out the Sand brothers.

o.o.o.o.o

**Sorry for the wait. I've been fighting a cold. If anything didn't make sense, blame the medication ... :(**

**REVIEWS might make me feel better, unless they're flames of course. LOL**

**BTW ...there's a new poll up on my account page. Vote for the guy you want taken OFF the 'undateable' list, or if you prefer, which alternate (Lee or Sai) you most want to see get a date. :P**


	6. The New BINGO Book

"You sent for me?" Neji asked, presenting himself in front of his uncle's desk.

Lord Hyuuga Hiashi nodded absently as he finished penning something onto a parchment. "The Sand Kazekage arrives later today."

"Un." Neji grunted, as if to say he knew that already, but not in a disrespectful way. He and his uncle would never be chummy, but their relationship had changed a lot after that fateful talk following his first chuunin exam.

Hiashi looked up from his desk, focusing his eyes on his nephew. "And apparently for some reason there is to be a dinner held for them by the Aburame clan."

Now Neji was surprised, he even showed it in the widening of his eyes. "That's …unusual." Was all he said though.

"Indeed." Hiashi shook his head. "The Aburame are not the most outgoing of hosts. But they are a well respected clan, and even though the invitation comes on short notice, the Hyuuga must be represented well at this dinner. I would not dishonor them by ignoring this invitation."

"Of course." Neji commented, unsure where this was heading.

"However, I had already accepted a long standing invitation from Lord Taian to meet with some of the representatives of the Daimyo Lords. As you know, canceling that is _not_ a possibility." Hiashi continued.

Neji nodded. He did indeed know. The Daimyo Lords were the noble elite for their country, and even though they themselves would not be present, to cancel on their representatives in order to attend another function would be a bad idea. "What would you have of me?"

"I'd like you to represent the Hyuuga clan at this Aburame dinner. It helps that you are already familiar with the Kazekage and his family. It is a simple meet and greet with a foreign leader, but I am hoping you will be available?" Hiashi asked.

Neji nodded, knowing that this really hadn't been a question, more like an edict.

Hiashi nodded, pleased. "Very good. Remember, you will be representing the Hyuuga clan for us.."

"Might I ask, why not Hinata?" Neji frowned slightly. "She's back from her mission and quite capable of representing us." He stood up for his slighter cousin, feeling that her father often overlooked how competent a kunoichi Hinata really was.

The older man finally smiled. "Hinata is back, true. But I'm hoping she'll spend the time with that young man of hers instead. Besides, she's just back off that mission and it would be nice to let her relax a bit."

Hiashi was being nice? Neji blinked, but made no other comment. Then he cleared his throat as he replayed his uncle's words. "You really like the possibility of a match with the Akimichi? You're hoping she spends the evening with Chouji?"

The clan leader nodded, looking almost happy. "I have the highest respect for their family, and the young man's father." Hiashi nodded toward Neji. "Their name may not be as lofty as ours, but it is a strong clan and a worthy one. So yes, my hopes are leaning in that direction."

Neji shrugged. "Then why not tell her to ask Chouji to the Aburame dinner?"

Hiashi leaned back, chuckling slightly. "She's already taken the lead by inviting him to the Winter Festival. I think it better for her to be asked out by him this time around. Times may have changed, but it is still a young man's prerogative to do the asking." He paused and looked over at his nephew. "Speaking of which, do you think TenTen will be free to go with you to the Aburame dinner?"

"I'm sure she will." Neji told him. "She's not on a mission right now."

The Hyuuga clan leader frowned slightly. "That doesn't mean she'll have the evening free. You seem to be assuming much, unless you two are closer than I know?"

"No, no." Neji backpedaled a bit. "Nothing like that. She's not seeing anyone else is all I meant."

Hiashi grunted and shook his head. "Is the art of courtship dead?" He muttered to himself as he dismissed his nephew.

o.o.o.o.o

"A dinner at Shino's?" Ino shook her head in wonder. "Girl, that is fast work."

Temari's eyes sparkled. "I didn't do it! Shino's family has been so nice since he brought me over for dinner a few days ago. Shikamaru never took me home to meet his parents. But I swear to you, I had nothing to do with planning this dinner."

"Well, it got done, that's all that matters." Sakura grinned, then her grin got really wide as she saw someone outside the café window. She half-stood and waved. "Hinata's back!" She explained to the others.

TenTen chuckled. "Which means that Kiba's back too, is that it?"

Sakura flashed an unrepentant smile at the other girls. Then they all waited until the purple-haired girl had joined them. "Guess what?"

Hinata just looked at them, waiting.

"There's going to be a dinner for the Kazekage at the Aburame compound!" Sakura grinned. "Ino and TenTen will get their first chance to get closer to the boys!"

Temari grimaced slightly, though her good humor didn't fade. "Don't let them hear you call them boys. Gaara has to face down quite a few people who think he's too young for the job of Kazekage."

Ino grinned. "Alright, mental note …no calling Gaara a boy." She hid her nervousness well, but not well enough.

"Relax!" Temari cooed at her. "He hasn't killed anyone just for being annoying in years!"

"That's not helping!" Scolded TenTen, even as she fought not to laugh at Ino's sour expression.

Hinata smiled shyly over at Ino. "Since you're in town, does that mean that Chouji is too?"

Ino's face melted into a winsome smile even as she nodded. "Oh. You have it baaaad. I'm so glad. I think he's over with Shikamaru today."

TenTen grinned. "The Nara has been keeping a low profile lately." She smirked.

Sakura laughed and held up a shopping bag. "Wait until you see what I've been working on!" The pink haired kunoichi pulled out some booklets as the other girls looked on curiously.

Temari took the proffered sheets, neatly bound together. Then she saw that Sakura had one for each of them.

"Sai doesn't quite understand the 'undateable' stuff, but he was intrigued enough to help." Sakura said, motioning for the girls to check out the small portfolios.

Ino choked as she flipped through hers and TenTen nearly slid out of her seat, she was laughing so hard. Hinata blushed and stared down at a portrait of her cousin, feeling just a bit sorry for him. She traced the words printed under his name. "Undateable for the crimes of being relationship lazy, forgetful, arrogant, and taking people for granted?"

Temari laughed as she found Shikamaru's face. "Undateable for the crime of being a two-faced, double-dealing, cheating jerk. I like it!"

Sakura held up the picture of Naruto. "Well, what do you think?"

"Nice likeness." Ino shook her head as she peered at the print below his name. "On Probation. Undateable for three months for the crimes of being unobservant, unintentionally rude, and being romantically ignorant."

Hinata blushed, looking away from Naruto's picture. "That's a bit harsh."

Sakura put down the picture of her teammate, her smile slipping a bit. "You don't have to stick with this you know. Say the word and we'll help you ask Naruto out."

Hinata blushed even harder as she shook her head. "No. No, that's not what I meant. I like Chouji and …and I've really been looking forward to returning to the village. It's been really nice knowing that when I got back, someone would be happy to see me."

"Rather than someone ignoring you even exist?" Temari nodded sagely.

"It would be nice to have someone who is eager to see you, rather than only coming by when he wants to go out." TenTen frowned, flipping to Neji's picture. "I haven't seen or heard from him outside of training for days. And then he only focuses on the training."

"Ouch, hardly romantic." Ino said quietly.

TenTen closed the book on Neji's face with a sigh. "Now that I look back on it, we just kind of fell in together. I'm not sure we could even call it dating. More like he takes me out when he needs someone at his side kind of thing. And it makes me sick that I let him do that to me."

"Neji likes you." Hinata said slowly. "He doesn't see anyone else."

TenTen shook her head. "I know that. But that's not enough anymore. So what if he's not a cheater? He pays no attention to me except on his schedule, which isn't often. He just takes it for granted that I'll be there for him. And he can be awfully distant at times even when we are together."

"Has he put the moves on you?" Ino asked, looking serious.

"Ino!" Hinata's face went beet red.

TenTen grimaced and shook her head. "A few kisses, but nothing …nothing …"

"Hot." Temari nodded. "Shino gave me a small kiss, just one and I'm almost sure it was by accident. Still, I've got to say, it made my toes tingle."

"Neji doesn't make my toes tingle." TenTen sighed. "Not for a long time now."

"Time to move on, then." Sakura said solemnly.

Ino stared at Temari, obviously wanting to ask something, but for once keeping her mouth shut.

Temari though, read her perfectly. "Shikamaru can kiss, and kiss well. But it was all warm and sweet. Shino, and keep in mind it was the smallest kiss possible, he really took me by surprise. And the best part? The tingling!" She grinned mischeivously.

Ino nodded, then grimaced. "I will miss that about Shika-jerk. But there's no going back, not when you can't trust a guy. Still. I can't imagine kissing your brother, much less his making my toes tingle."

The Sand kunoichi dropped her mouth in shock, then laughed. "Gaara? Kissing? I hadn't …oh, I wish you hadn't put that in my mind!" She sobered though, staring at Ino a moment. She ran her eyes up and down the blond assessingly.

"What?" Ino shifted uncomfortably.

"You know. If anyone has a shot at it, it might just be you."

Ino blushed just slightly and gave a weak smile. Truth? She couldn't imagine getting close enough to Gaara to kiss him at all!

TenTen sighed and flipped to the last page of the booklet. "Oh. Sasuke."

Sakura nodded, then quoted the page without even glancing at it. "Undateable for any reason. Crimes too many to mention. Not trustworthy and without loyalty."

Ino winced, but nodded. "Harsh, but true."

"I hear he's in talks with the Leaf elders about the possibility of coming back, now that his brother is dead." Temari said slowly, carefully.

Sakura shrugged. "I'd like him to return. He needs it. I think he's probably lost without the goal of avenging his family. But …."

"No more fangirl?" TenTen nodded.

"No. No more." Sakura said firmly. "Not after everything he's put us all through. Naruto's happy about the possibility he might return though."

"Oh, Hinata! I've told the others, but you were out on a mission. Shino knows about how we picked new guys to date. I think you should come clean to Chouji before he hears about it from someone else." Temari said, looking over at the Hyuuga girl.

Hinata nodded, looking relieved. "Good. It's better that everything is out in the open."

"Speaking of being out in the open." Temari flipped through the pictures once more, getting a small thrill when she saw the one of Shikamaru looking humiliated with food dripping from his hair. "You're not posting these, are you?"

"No." Sakura grinned with dark malice. "But I did have them copied at Ukiyo's family shop. Made sure she got a good long look at them too. Then I just happened to leave for a few minutes before returning to get the copies."

Ino's eyes went wide. "You didn't?!"

TenTen groaned. "Copies will be out through the village by the end of the day. Ukiyo is such an underhanded, gossipy little twit."

"But useful on occasion." Sakura said smugly.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru sighed and flipped the bound picture book shut with a sigh. "Troublesome." Was his only comment as he shoved the book back across the table.

His mother shook her head sadly at him. "Undateable for the crime of being a two-faced, double-dealing, cheating jerk? Care to explain yourself young man?"

"No." Shikamaru sighed and yawned, looking bored.

Chouji tried to ease himself out of the room, but Nara Yoshino pinned him with a stare. "At least you're not in this book." She said almost softly before returning her glare to her wayward son. "And do you know that Jukodo Yae took great pleasure in showing me your picture while I was at the market. At the market! Do you know how embarrassing that was?"

"No." Shikamaru said again, though this time he didn't yawn.

Yoshino whacked her son over the head with the picture book, making him grumble. "Is any of this true? Are you a two-faced, double-dealing, cheating jerk?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes as he answered in a bored tone. "Not any more, they broke up with me."

Chouji finally managed to sneak away as Yoshino screeched away at her son about never being able to have grandchildren if he didn't 'grow up'.

He walked back toward his house, lost in thought. Undateable. With pictures of Sasuke, Shikamaru, Naruto and Neji. Wow. But the words beneath Naruto's name kept haunting him.

**On Probation. Undateable for three months for the crimes of being unobservant, unintentionally rude, and being romantically ignorant**

_On probation_. What did that mean? And Naruto wasn't rude or anything. But he _was_ completely unobservant when it came to Hinata. The same Hinata who had invited Chouji to be her escort for the Winter Festival. Much as he hated to think it. The picture and her asking him out had to be connected.

And Kiba had a date with Sakura, while Shino was seeing Temari now. Just what was going on? And Neji. Neji's picture was in the undateable list? How odd was that?

"Hey! Chouji!"

He looked up to see Ino and Sakura waving at him. With Hinata standing shyly between them, blushing prettily. Reluctantly, he headed toward them. Did he really want to know that they'd been toying with him? Or would it be better just to let things drop? Pretend it never happened.

The two girls disappeared as he approached, leaving Hinata smiling sweetly at him. Chouji swallowed hard. She looked so open and honest, and genuinely pleased to see him. Some of his hurt faded just like that. "Hinata." He said questioningly.

The purple-haired girl raised her pale eyes to him, her smile so real. He'd seen her forced smile before, and this wasn't it. The rest of his hurt feelings flowed away as she looked up at him. "I'm back." She told him needlessly.

Chouji grinned, unable to help himself. "I'm glad. Everything go alright?"

Hinata nodded. "Easy mission, higher ranked than it needed to be."

"Good." He nodded to the restaurant behind her. "Did you just finish eating?"

"No." She admitted. "I was just catching up with the girls, we had some tea but that's it."

Chouji swallowed and looked nervous as he glanced away from her. "Would you like to have lunch? With me?"

Hinata's smile grew brighter than the sun as she nodded. "I'd really like that."

The young man smile grew to match hers, making the girls watching from a distance coo in delight. "They both got it bad." Ino giggled madly as Sakura tried to shush her.

The Akimichi held out his arm like a gentleman, and Hinata blushed even more as she slipped her arm through his. They walked comfortably for a few moments before Chouji ushered her into a nice dining establishment, not his usual barbeque place. Somehow, for their first date, casual just didn't seem the way to go.

Hinata beamed as Chouji seated her with care, and paid special attention to what she wanted to eat. No one ever bothered to ask her opinion on a meal. It was always what her father thought she _should _eat, or what Neji liked, or something. Feeling like a pampered queen, she basked in his attention.

For his part, Chouji melted at the happy looks he was getting from Hinata. But still, at the back of his mind, there was a small worry. Finally, after ordering, he couldn't remain quiet about it any longer. "Hinata?"

"Yes?"

"I saw a picture book today." He started, unsure how to go on. If the answer wasn't good, he wasn't sure how he'd handle it.

"Oh." Hinata's gaze faltered as she blushed and looked down. "I wanted to tell you about that before you found out on your own."

"Oh." He echoed. Sure she was about to tell him something he didn't want to hear. Still, he managed to listen quietly as she explained what the girls had done, and how they'd done it. When she told him that she'd kept his name, even when offered others, it made him feel funny. "So this is only for three months?" He said when she'd finished. "After that, Naruto is off probation?"

"No!" Hinata rushed to tell him, looking aghast at the very suggestion. "No, I mean yes, he'll be off probation, but not for me."

Chouji blinked slowly, then shook his head. "Not for you?" Did he dare hope that she meant what he wanted her to mean?

Hinata nodded and reached out to touch his hand where it rested on the table, just looking to wipe that sad look off his face. "I wasn't fibbing when I said I was over him. And the girls did offer to let me change names, or go back to Naruto."

"Why didn't you?" He asked plainly, trying hard to understand.

Hinata blushed hotly, starting to pull back her hand, but he caught her before she could. She sat there and watched her hand as it was engulfed, though gently, in his larger grip. "Because …because …" She lost her nerve and shook her head.

"Because why?" He whispered hoarsely.

Hinata shrugged, not looking at him as she admitted her feelings. "Ever since I pulled your name, I …I've been so happy."

"Happy?" Chouji prompted, hope blooming in his heart as his hand tightened slightly on her own. "Me too."

"Really?" She blinked up at him, finally meeting his gaze. What she saw there nearly made her weep. "How did I get so lucky to get your name?"

"Most girls wouldn't think getting my name would be a good thing." He confessed.

Hinata shook her head. "Fools." She told him baldly. "I …I've been …on this last mission, I couldn't wait to get back …to see you I mean."

Chouji's lungs expanded so much at hearing that, his body armor actually strained a bit. His eyes lit up, making Hinata feel all tingly inside. She wondered what the girls would say if she told them that Chouji didn't even have to kiss her to make her toes tingle like that?

"At the end of three months, what happens?" Chouji asked, he just had to know.

Hinata shrugged. "The girls decide if they're happy in their new relationships. So far so good though. Sakura has been so giddy about Kiba lately, and Shino's family is throwing a dinner for Temari's family when they arrive."

"And you?" He prodded slightly.

Hinata blushed again, then peeked at him through her lashes. It was a patented girly look, but she wasn't trying to be a flirt, so it looked completely natural on her. Chouji fell hard as she whispered her answer. "I've ...I've never been happier."

o.o.o.o.o

Neji penned a quick note to TenTen explaining about the Aburame dinner and that he'd pick her up at six. After that, he headed into the village to pick up an acceptable host gift for the event.

Being a shinobi, he did notice the odd looks being cast in his direction, but he ignored them. So too did he ignore the trio of female Academy students poring over some booklet they had, even when they looked at him curiously and started giggling wildly.

It was the next sight that held his attention.

Kakashi sat at a table, looking over a book. Only …it wasn't the right book. Intrigued, Neji noted that the copy nin seemed to be looking at the same book those giggly girls had been looking at. Where was the man's novel? He always had one of those _Icha Icha_ books with him. The young Hyuuga couldn't seem to recall seeing Kakashi without his books.

Neji frowned as Kakashi looked up and gave him a smile through his mask. "I'm so sorry." The man said, then got up and walked away quickly.

"Where are you going?" Neji called out to him.

"Away from you." Kakashi told him before disappearing around a corner. "I have no desire to join you fellows in your notoriety."

"What?" Neji muttered, but the copy nin had left him alone. Well not alone. Kurenai and Anko were walking by. He scowled as they pretended not to notice him even as they approached him. Just what was going on?

"It's like a BINGO book for kunoichi." Kurenai was explaining to Anko. "Instead of criminals, it shows …Oh, hello Neji." The jounin said, looking like she was holding back a smile.

Anko looked Neji up and down, three times. Then shook her head. "What a waste." She muttered and headed off toward one of the weaponry shops.

Kurenai yelled after her. "It doesn't mean you can't try for one of them, just that they may not be worth the effort."

"True, true." Anko said before disappearing inside the shop.

"Try for one of what?" Neji asked curiously.

Kurenai shook her head at him. "Don't worry. I'm sure they'll get over it." She said, then left him to his own devices as she followed Anko into the shop.

"Sorry? Get over it? Just what the hell is going on?" Neji muttered, then growled as a kid ran up to him. "What?" He snapped.

The kid stuck his tongue out at him, then held up a message. Neji sighed and tipped the messenger. He ripped open the note, scowling as he read it. "Shit." TenTen's note said that she was sorry, but she had other plans. "Other plans? What other plans?"

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen and Ino stood in the Hokage's tower, waiting for the Sand siblings to finish meeting with Tsunade.

Ino looked over TenTen with a critical eye. "Do you always wear your hair up?"

"Yes." The other girl said, nervously touching one of the buns. "Wait, what are you doing?" She asked as Ino maneuvered her into a nearby chair.

"Humor me." The blond said with a smile.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed it! Reviews are always helpful, thanks!**


	7. New Beginnings

"Having problems?" Hanabi asked her scowling cousin with a mischievous smile.

Neji shrugged off the matter. "It was short notice, of course no one's free tonight." Though he did find it a bit strange all the odd looks he'd been getting around town. Maybe everyone was so used to he and TenTen being together that they thought it bad form for him to be asking out other women? But it wasn't like it was a _date_ date. This was a family thing, that's all. And why had Sakura looked so strange when he'd asked if she were free?

Hanabi bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing, the kunoichi BINGO book burning a hole in her Academy school bag. But now wasn't the right time to spring this on her cousin, she was just surprised he didn't know about it yet.

"I guess I can go alone, I'll just have to pen a quick note to the Aburame leader." Neji shook off his unease.

The youngest Hyuuga shook her head. "Guess what?" She waited until Neji was looking at her and she gave him her most innocent smile. "You could take me to the dinner."

"No." Neji looked at her sternly.

Hanabi shrugged. "Or you could escort great-aunt Shiori, I suppose."

Neji sighed, shaking his head sadly. Why, oh why couldn't TenTen have been free tonight?

o.o.o.o.o

"But …but …" The girl sputtered helplessly as she tried to get away, only to be brought up short by a sharp tug on her extra-long hair.

Ino ruthlessly pushed TenTen back down in her seat. "Trust me." She said, her eyes focused on what her fingers were doing as she rearranged the dark tresses.

TenTen cringed a bit, and then winced as Ino pulled her hair a bit sharply. "There's nothing wrong with the way I wear my hair. It allows for easy movement and keeps stray locks from ruining my target sighting."

"Exactly." Ino said, narrowing her eyes as she pushed in another hair clip they'd found when they'd raided a near by desk. "It's good for a kunoichi on a mission. Functional. But not for a woman trying to seduce a man."

TenTen tried to get up again, squeaking as Ino kept a hold of her hair. "I'm not trying to SEDUCE him! Just …just …"

"Do you want Neji back?" Ino asked gruffly, leaning down one side to look at TenTen's wide eyes.

"N… no." Sputtered TenTen, her inner doubts raging away inside her. Then she deliberately forced herself to remember all the things she'd been angry about in the first place. How Neji ignored her when it wasn't convenient for him. How he took her for granted when he wanted to go out, but could put her off in a heartbeat if something came up. How he never remembered birthdays, or even the foods to which she was allergic. "No." She said more firmly, her chin hardening with determination.

"Is this just a game? Or are you looking for a real boyfriend? Because if you're looking to just get back at Neji and don't want to date Kankuro for at least the next three months, then this is pointless." Ino straightened and went back to rearranging TenTen's hair.

The dark hair girl pouted slightly. "That doesn't mean I'm trying to _seduce _this guy."

"Seduce him just enough to get a date for the Winter Festival at least. Okay?" Ino said, as she came around to stare at TenTen's face critically. "There. You look great!"

TenTen sighed nervously. "Neji never complained about my hairstyle." She pointed out.

Ino crossed her arms and gave the other girl a telling look. "Apparently Neji wasn't paying you attention enough to keep YOUR attention. So his lack of an opinion is _not_ a good endorsement for keeping the same hairstyle." She said, pointing toward a small office bathroom. "Go check it out, see what you think."

Moaning, TenTen got up, feeling awkward with all that hair hanging down her back. "Fine. But if I don't like it, it goes back up."

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba was fuming by the time he tracked down Shino. The Aburame was out in the forest collecting bugs and doing some light training, even with his still healing leg.

The Inuzuka rushed up to his teammate, all growls and frowns. His fangs were highly evident as he let loose a wild set of words that had even his stoic teammate looking the tiniest bit shocked. "What's wrong?" Shino finally asked as Kiba stopped to take a breath.

The dog ninja screamed, wild and primal, throwing his head back.

Shino waited him out, and as the last echoes of that scream faded he just looked down at a unusually quiet Akamaru. "Maybe you'll tell me what's wrong?"

Kiba grunted and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Sakura's been playing games with me."

Surprised, Shino just stared at him a moment. "Are you talking about the 'undateable' list?"

Kiba's mouth dropped open. "YOU knew about it? You _knew_ and didn't tell me? You let me go on and on about how excited I was about seeing Sakura and all this time …"

"No." Shino interrupted firmly. "I only found out about it after Temari asked me to be her escort to the Winter Festival."

The young Inuzuka ground his teeth together viciously. "I hope you told her 'no' and shoved her on her …"

"Watch your language. I happen to be dating her now." Shino said in his deadly calm manner that brooked no arguments.

Shocked, Kiba shook his head mutely. Shino nodded. Kiba sighed. "Are you mad? I don't know what the girls are playing at, but …but ..."

Shino held up one hand to stop his teammate's rant. "I do know. And it's quite clear you don't."

Kiba looked away, his rage fading into embarrassment and hurt feelings. "I ran into Sakura after I got back today. We set up a date for tonight, an early dinner and a movie. I was planning maybe some quick barbeque and then that great new action thriller. Then we I went into the village and I ran into …" He growled as Shino shook his head again and motioned for Kiba to shut up. "Are you going to let me finish a sentence?"

"Not when you're on the wrong trail." Shino said calmly. "Let me explain." And he started to outline for his teammate how the 'undateables' had ended up on the list, and how they themselves were the beneficiaries. Most importantly, he explained that it wasn't a game to the girls. They seemed to be deadly serious. Finally, he stopped talking and waited for Kiba's response.

And waited.

And waited.

Shino didn't sigh or look away. He had a lot of patience, so he kept on waiting until Kiba had a chance to digest everything he'd been told.

Finally, Kiba looked up at his friend with an odd sort of hopeful look. "So it's for three months?"

Shino nodded. "They felt that since they weren't chasing a crush anymore, that there couldn't be any snap decisions. It seems the girls felt that three months was a good length of time to see if there was any real interest in the new arrangements. And I for one am doing my best to make sure Temari is happy enough to want to stick around after the deadline."

"Oh." Kiba looked down at Akamaru, who gave a very puzzled series of barks and yips. Kiba shrugged, as if to say he didn't understand how female minds worked either.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro and Gaara left the Hokage's tower feeling grungy from the travel, but in otherwise good spirits. They'd nodded when Shizune had explained that they'd have personal escorts for their stay.

But when they were out of the office, the puppeteer leaned toward his brother. "Escorts? Do they not trust us anymore? I thought we were over all that."

Gaara shrugged. "I always have an escort, I'm the Kazekage. It's only polite."

Kankuro, though, wasn't appeased. "Guards. Probably big, ugly and surly. I won't get a chance to have any fun …at …all." He groaned as they entered the main part of the common waiting area.

There were two people standing there. Yamanaka Ino was one, looking gorgeous as always. And Morino Ibiki. He looked as intimidating as always. "Dibs on the blond." Kankuro whispered.

Gaara snorted at his brother as Ino approached him with a smile. "Welcome!" She said brightly, then offered Kankuro a greeting as well before turning back to the red-head. "Kazekage-sama? I'm to be your escort for your stay here in Konoha."

The puppeteer grimaced slightly, thinking to himself that he had the WORST luck. Sure, the blond wasn't really his style. She was way too chatty and forward for his tastes, still, she sure beat it over Ibiki any day of the week!

"Gaara is fine." The red-head told Ino, whose over-bright smile dimmed into the real thing. He blinked as he realized she'd been nervous about his response to her. He thought briefly about smiling back, but was out of practice and his smiles tended to scare people anyway, so he didn't bother.

Kankuro looked at Ibiki and sneered. The ANBU division leader ignored him as Shizune entered behind them. "Morino-san? Tsunade has those evaluations ready for you."

A bit surprised, the puppet user watched as the mean looking shinobi headed back toward the Hokage's office without even a backward glance. The man wasn't his guard/escort? Then who was?

"TenTen will be out in a moment." Ino said, then fell silent as if unsure what to say next. Finally she smiled that same over-bright smile. "Kaz …er, Gaara-sama?"

With a start, Gaara realized she was waiting for him. He cleared his throat, "I need to go and find the guest apartments. I've got some work to do before going out tonight, seems there's a dinner or something and I want to clean up."

TenTen? Kankuro's mind raced. The name wasn't unfamiliar, but he couldn't place …oh, wait. Wasn't she the slim girl that had helped rescue Gaara after the Akatsuki attack? He hadn't paid that much attention because of all that had been going on, that and nearly dying and everything. Still, he thought there was _something_ he should remember about her, what was it again?

Ino nodded, feeling oddly out of place. Here she was trying to get a date with Suna's Kazekage, and he wasn't even really looking at her! Well, he was looking …but not _looking_. Guys always looked at her. That was the way it was supposed to be. That's the way it had always been. With the exception of Sasuke, no one she'd looked at had ever NOT looked back.

"Sure. Of course. I know where your gear has been taken. I'll …I'll escort you there!" She said in that cheerful tone that had Gaara puzzled. Why was she trying so hard? They weren't friends or anything, but they were familiar enough with each other that she shouldn't be so …so … wait. Was Ino _afraid_ of him?

Gaara frowned. He didn't like it that she was afraid of him. Actually, he was used to that kind of reaction, but somehow, it didn't seem right. Not with her, or the other Leaf ninja he'd met over the years. Funny, the last time he'd seen her she'd not acted so skittish.

For her part, Ino was nearly a nervous wreck. Something about Gaara just put her on edge. Not in a bad way, but ….but she felt so insignificant next to him. Here he was, the Kazekage of his ninja village. He'd accomplished so much! And he was so young for the job. Yet, here she was, barely older than he. And what had she accomplished so far? She'd chased an unattainable man who'd betrayed their village and had then gone on to dating a man who'd cheated on her.

She looked at Gaara and her heart sunk. _THIS WASN'T GOING TO WORK_! Deep inside, Ino felt like crying. Sakura, Temari and Hinata had already found success. And here she was, about to fall flat on her face! Should she scrap the whole thing and go find Lee? Or maybe Sai? But Lee was hung up on Sakura and Sai kept calling her 'Beautiful', but not meaning it. Damn it!

Gaara watched Ino, unable to read her expression at all. He waited, but she didn't say anything. Finally Kankuro coughed. She jerked and looked over at him nervously.

"You're going to escort my brother …." His voice trailed off questioningly. "When?"

"Oh!" Ino's smile brightened as she blushed slightly. "Right! Sorry. This way, Kazekage-sama."

"Gaara."

"Right! Ga…Gaara-sama."

The honorific she tacked onto his name was only proper. So why did it grate his nerves so? Gaara shrugged and followed the odd blond out of the office.

Kankuro looked around, but didn't see any sign of TenTen. Maybe the girl wasn't too happy about escorting him? Well too bad. He sneered and turned at a slight sound. There he stopped cold.

The girl was beautiful. Absolutely, devastatingly beautiful. She was slender and petite, but with long lithe limbs and a toned body. Her eyes were huge dark pools framed by thick lashes that drew him like a lodestone. And her hair. Oh by heaven, her hair! The dark nimbus framed her slender face in soft waves and flowed past her shoulders. His fingers curled as the desire to touch her hair flooded him.

Doe-like eyes blinked at him, then a quiet smile. "Hello." She said. Quiet. Not shy, not timid, just calm and perfect. Suddenly, he wanted to hear her say something else, anything else, just to hear her talk.

"Hi." He said dumbly. Then curled his lip as he realized how doltish he sounded.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked, looking around. "I suppose Ino already left with your brother?"

It was then that Kankuro clued in. TenTen. This gorgeous girl was the same quiet one he'd remembered from before, only different somehow. "Yah." He said, then mentally kicked himself. One word answers were not the way to impress a girl like this! Then his shoulders slumped as he FINALLY remembered what it was that he'd been trying to recall ever since he heard her name mentioned.

TenTen already had a boyfriend. A long standing one. That Hyuuga kid, the one who had money, family name, ability, looks, and brains.

"Shit." He muttered under his breath and scratched at his travel soiled shirt. Life just wasn't fair sometimes.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura felt miserable. Kiba had arrived at her house on time. He'd brought her flowers. He'd showered and dressed up. Akamaru was no where to be seen and the Inuzuka had even slicked down his hair somehow. She looked across the fancy restaurant table at her date and found she had absolutely nothing to say.

"What movie do you want to see?" Kiba asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. "There's a new Hirasi Okichi film. I thought that might be good." The whole idea for this late lunch was so they could go to the movies afterwards. Or that had been the plan.

"Sure." Sakura agreed, trying not to wince at the thought of two hours wasted in a sappy movie about a prodigal child returning to rescue his widowed mother from the evil landlord. "That's fine." She lied.

"Good." Kiba said, then fell silent as they looked away from each other. He felt like panicking. Three months? He had only three months to impress her? She looked like she was done with him already! What had he missed? Flowers and expensive dinner, check. Chick flick without the nin-dog, check. At that thought Kiba almost groaned. He felt naked somehow without Akamaru at his feet.

Sakura watched Kiba, unable to tell what he was thinking. Was she _that _awful a date? All her insecurities came flooding back to haunt her as she sat there in the unrelenting silence, broken only by the murmur of other diners. Oh, how she'd hate to have to admit to Ino that she'd failed! And after all her giddy excitement recently too! Damn Kiba, why wasn't he interested in her anymore?

Maybe it was because of the 'undateable' list. She'd tried to explain it to him right after they got to the restaurant, but he said he already knew and it was okay. But maybe he wasn't okay with it after all. This date was a disaster and she had NO idea what to do about it. It wasn't like she had a long string of boyfriends or dates to help her understand what was going wrong, or how to fix it. Maybe it was her. Maybe SHE was what was wrong. Feeling miserable, Sakura tried to smile harder to cover up her embarrassment.

Kiba groaned as he saw the fake smile. She wasn't having fun. Not good. Not good at all. "Desert?" He asked as the waiter came toward them.

"No, thank you." Sakura said. Desert would only lengthen this already horrible dinner.

Silence fell over them yet again.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara stopped, looking at the closed door to his guest apartments. Ino kept walking a few feet, talking the whole time, before realizing he wasn't with her. Puzzled, she turned and gave him an odd look.

The Kazekage was staring at his apartment door and looked stiff as a board. Ino stiffened as well. "Trouble?" She asked, reaching for her weapons pouch.

"Not that kind." Gaara's voice dripped disgust.

Ino remained battle-ready as she looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Is it the kind of trouble I can stick a kunai through?"

An actual chuckle escaped him, although it sounded rather rusty. "Not a bad thought, but ...it would be kind of difficult to explain how I'd let my former student and her rivals get killed."

"Matsuri?" Ino asked, puzzled.

"She's …persistent in her praise." Gaara sighed, looking with longing at the apartment. He really could do with a shower and a change of clothing. "There's another one in there with her, I'm sure. Suzue. Maybe her sister as well."

"Oh." Ino laughed ruefully. "Fangirls. I know a little about that." She admitted with a crooked grin.

Gaara blinked at her a moment, then grunted. "Did you ever wait in his apartment ready to fetch tea and blankets, or dinner, or a pen, or …"

Ino blushed slightly. "No. But I probably would have if I thought it might've worked." She looked over at the apartment and then back at Gaara, reading his reluctance correctly. "Anything in there you absolutely need right away?"

Gaara shrugged. "Shower."

Ino nodded. "I have a shower at home you can use, do you have clean clothes?"

Surprised, Gaara focused his pale-jade eyes on her a moment. Ino met his gaze evenly. He grunted and nodded, holding up his travel pack. "You would do that?"

"I'm your escort." She said blithely. "It's my job to protect you from all eventualities."

Gaara nodded and indicated she should lead the way. But inside, deeply buried, he was a bit disappointed. She wasn't being nice to _him_. She was merely doing her job.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura and Kiba were walking side by side on their way to the movie house. Each step forward seemed like another nail in her heart. Kiba hadn't said much of anything beyond speaking of the weather or general politics in almost an hour.

"Look." Kiba said quietly, pointing.

Sakura looked up and nearly groaned. Chouji and Hinata. The pair were standing in line at the movies and chatting away. Sakura felt like throwing up. Shy little Hinata wasn't blushing, wasn't stammering, and looked happier than a rainbow. "They're holding hands." The pink-haired girl said numbly.

Kiba grunted. The two stopped, staring, neither wanting to get any closer. It was if the other couple's happy mood and closeness just pointed out how stilted their own date had been so far.

They stood like that until the other couple disappeared inside the movie house, still talking, and still holding hands.

"You really want to see a movie?" Sakura asked blankly.

"Not really. You?" Kiba replied dully.

Sakura shook her head, then surprised herself by stating, "Yes."

Kiba did a double take. "What? But …"

The pink haired kunoichi growled and turned viscous eyes on him, making Kiba actually back up one step. "I said YES! Damn it!"

The Inazuka looked shocked, but nodded. "Sure, sure …"

His placating tone irritated her past the breaking point. Sakura shoved him. Then that had felt so good, she did it again. "Stop agreeing with me!"

"What?" Kiba blinked and managed, somehow, to stay on his feet. His shoulder stung where she'd pushed him. Damn, but she was strong. "I just agreed with you!"

Sakura growled and advanced on him. "Yes! You've been doing that all night! You've laughed at everything I said, even when it wasn't funny! You slicked your hair back. You took me to a fancy restaurant! You …you ….want to see a stupid Okichi film!"

Kiba's temper fired up and he poked her in the shoulder as he growled back at her while showing his fangs. "I was trying to be nice! I was trying to be a gentleman! I was trying to treat you like a lady and …"

"Who ASKED you to do that!" Sakura screeched. "All night long I've been trying to figure out what I'd done wrong!"

"Wrong?" He hissed. "I was trying to figure out how to make you relax and enjoy yourself!"

"AND YOU LEFT AKAMARU BEHIND!" She screamed like a fishwife.

Kiba blinked, then gave a lopsided grin. "Akamaru, huh?"

Sakura blushed, but settled down a bit. She was still disgruntled and gave his shoulder another push for good measure. He caught her hand in his, giving her a tug toward him. "So. You're dating me for my nin-dog, is that it?"

The pink-haired girl gave him a sheepish look. "No. No, but …but I thought I was dating Inuzuka Kiba tonight. The guy who showed up at my door, him I don't know."

Kiba grimaced and let go of her hand to run both of his through his slicked back hair. Rubbing it vigorously, the spikes returned with a vengeance. "Better?"

Sakura relaxed as she saw his mood had lightened, and that he was back to being himself. "Much better." She admitted. "Why were you trying so hard?"

"Oh." Kiba looked down at his feet a moment before giving her an impish grin. "I heard about the three month thingy and thought if I had any chance to keep you around after that, I'd better straighten up."

She caught her breath. "You WANT to see me? After all this?" She waved her hands around, meaning the whole awkward evening.

Kiba groaned. "All that, as you put it, was to try and impress you. I just thought I might try acting like …like the kind of guy you seem to like."

Sakura caught her breath, her jewel-toned eyes widening. "Like Sasuke you mean."

He nodded and she groaned, then sighed deeply. Sakura reached out and caught his hand, looking deep into his dark eyes. "I asked out Inuzuka Kiba because I wanted to go out with him. Him. Not anyone else. This gentleman you were trying to be? Doesn't exist and I wouldn't want him anyway."

Kiba rubbed his thumb lightly over her knuckles. Hesitantly, he looked at her. "Can we start over?"

Sakura nodded, then frowned. "As long as we don't have to sit through a Hirasi Okichi film. That kind of thing makes me fall asleep."

"Thank heaven!" Kiba groaned, though happily this time as he squeezed her hand.

"You know. There's a Genji Noritada retrospective on television tonight." She said slyly. "And my mother has left-over stew."

Kiba's stomach growled. "The food at the restaurant was expensive, but damn if the didn't skimp on the portions."

Sakura laughed, feeling better than she'd felt all night as she tugged Kiba toward her house. He wouldn't budge though. She looked back at him quizzically. "What? You object to the movie, the food, or my mother?"

"None." Kiba grinned and laughed. "But can we go by my house and pick up Akamaru first? I don't feel dressed without him beside me."

Sakura laughed, and the sound filled his heart like nothing else could. They ended up walking back toward his family compound while holding hands.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade was hungry and tired. She felt cranky and mean, but she couldn't leave yet. There was one more appointment.

A knock on her door had her looking up. No less than five jounin escorted the man inside and the fact seemed to amuse him, from the look of the sneer on his handsome face.

She nodded to him.

He nodded to her.

"Shall we begin?" He asked.

Tsunade pointed him toward a chair. "Take a seat, Sasuke."

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? I hope you liked it! I promise, the Aburame dinner will be in the next chapter. Neji's in for a shock! LOL**

**As always, REVIEWS are always helpful**


	8. Stirring Things Up

"No, not that." The blond looked peeved. "Go change!"

Kankuro sneered at his sister. "Why? It's not like I need to make a good impression on bug boy or his family."

Gaara ignored them both as he finished reading a scroll-letter. "Why are we invited to the Aburame's anyway? They don't own any trading concerns with Suna."

Temari crossed her arms, trying to hide her nervousness. "They're just being nice."

"Right." Kankuro scowled as his sister walked over to him, pushing him back toward his bedroom. "I don't see why we can't just blow them off. I'm tired. I just want to kick back and maybe get a drink or two."

Gaara looked up from his reading. "I really do need to go over some of these missives."

"NO!" Temari yelled, then stilled as both brothers turned wide eyes on her. "I'm dating him, okay? I'm dating Shino and his family is throwing a dinner for my family. They're nice."

The two boys looked at her, cut their eyes toward each other, then looked back at her. Neither spoke.

"My family. That's you two." Temari pointed out to them as if they were slow. She scowled, tapping her foot as she pointed directly at Kankuro. "Go wash the war paint off, I need you looking good."

"You're ...dating bug boy?" Kankuro said with a slow grin, then he started laughing. He continued laughing even as his older sister clocked him on the side of the head, though he did manage to dodge the second blow. "Wh...why?"

Temari frowned at her brothers, but both looked ready to sit there until the end of time or until she explained. "I just am, okay? Now, go get cleaned up! You have to look hot!"

Kankuro stopped laughing, trying to catch his breath. "Hot? Why? It's not like I need to make a good impression on bug boy. And why the switch from the Nara guy?"

Not wanting to go into that, Temari hedged. "You need to clean up to make a good impression on TenTen of course."

"Oh, like that'll do me any good." Kankuro's expression darkened. "She's already got herself a boyfriend."

"Not anymore."

The puppeteer straightened and stared his sister in the eye. For a moment, they weighed each other's expressions carefully. "If you're messing around with me, there will be pain and bloodshed." He promised her, his expression serious.

Temari grinned. "Only yours, if you screw this up. She's free, and she's looking in _your _direction."

Kankuro looked at Gaara who just shrugged as if to say he didn't know what was going on either.

Temari sighed. "We girls got together and decided to dump our guys for being 'undateable'. Then we drew names for the guys that were still dateable. I put you two in there. You have three months to make a good impression or you lose the girl to one of the alternates."

Gaara stiffened and glared at Temari even as Kankuro slipped quietly from the room.

She looked back at him, unrepentant. "What? You need a girlfriend."

"No I don't." He grimaced. "Matsuri, Suzue, and Harumi were already waiting for me in the apartment today."

"Girlfriend, not fangirl." Temari clarified absently as she ran her eyes up and down her youngest brother. "At least you're already cleaned up and dressed. No bloodstains, so you didn't kill them."

Gaara curled his lip at her glib humor. "Very funny. No. I didn't even have to see them. While I cleaned up at the Yamanaka residence, Ino was over here ridding the apartment of fangirls. It was actually impressive."

Temari gave him an odd look, then grinned. "Takes a former fangirl to know how to get rid of one apparently."

The red-head sighed and gave his sister a stern look. "So. Who are you kunoichi going to sic on me? I promise you, I will not be dating this person, so you can just call her off."

His sister narrowed her eyes on him. "What do you mean? You've already met her."

"No I haven't."

"Ino."

Gaara stared at her stupefied. He shook his head. She nodded hers.

"She's afraid of me." The Kazekage said bluntly.

"No. She's not." Temari assured him. "Though she might be nervous about letting you know she's interested."

"What could she be nervous about?" Gaara asked, then shook his head again. "No. No way she doesn't already have a boyfriend. Or several."

"One." Temari nodded. "He cheated on her. She may be feeling a bit unsure of herself."

"No." Gaara said emphatically as he stood up. "Kankuro! Get out here, we need to leave or we'll be late."

"No, you're not interested in Ino?" Temari chuckled.

Gaara sighed. "No. No way a guy would cheat on her. The guy must be an idiot. And the other girl is probably easy."

Temari stiffened, glaring daggers at the back of her brother's head. "No she isn't."

"How do you know?" Gaara barked, looking irritated. "It's not like you live here anyway. In fact, the only thing that you have in common with Ino, that I know of, is that you were dating her teammate." He looked over at her just in time to catch her wince. He recalled how she said that all of the girls were dumping their boyfriends, and things just clicked. He stiffened as sudden anger bit him. "I'll kill him."

Temari choked, then laughed. "Not necessary. We took care of it. Humiliation is better in this instance anyway, it avoids war."

"I don't care about that." Gaara sneered. "Say the word and he's dead."

Temari looked over at him, her gaze softening. "You'd go to war over my feelings? Ah Gaara, I love you too." He went rigid and shook his head even as she grinned at him. He sighed in resignation, realizing that refuting her comment would only make things worse.

"You guys ready yet?" Kankuro said, walking out of his bedroom.

Gaara blinked dully at him a moment then sighed and looked over at Temari. "You might want to rethink the term 'hot'."

Temari laughed as Kankuro grumbled.

o.o.o.o.o

"By yourself tonight?" The older woman asked Neji with a smile that hid the barb behind her words. Or was that his imagination? Seemed like he'd been getting strange looks and pointed comments all day. Just what was going on?

He finished with the chit-chat with the elderly cousin of the Nakanoi clan. Yes he was well, no Hiashi was fine, yes indeed Hanabi was shaping up well as the clan heir, no Hinata wasn't married yet, yes he had made jounin already, and no, he had NOT sat for a portrait lately. Neji sighed. He hated this sort of thing. But the Nakanoi clan was highly influential and he couldn't afford to insult the woman, no matter how insulting he found her questions.

At last the woman waved to someone else she knew and Neji was able to turn away from her. What he saw, though, was enough to take his breath away. TenTen. Only, she looked different.

Wearing a dark green printed silk dress that ended just past her mid-thigh, she was looking damned beautiful. He frowned. What was she doing here? Had she been able to get away after all? He was glad, but he'd have to find their host and explain that they had an extra for dinner tonight. Irritated that she'd shown up after he'd spent the better part of a frustrating afternoon trying to find someone to bring tonight, he walked up to her still wearing his frown.

"I thought you couldn't come tonight. You had 'other plans', if I remember right." He said, taking her arm. He frowned deeper as she pulled free of him.

TenTen arched one delicate brow at him. "I do." She said firmly, her voice pitched low.

Neji breathed deep, then looked at her, puzzled. "Are you wearing perfume?"

"Yes." She said, then looked at him and sighed. "Look Neji, I have to tell you ..."

"Well, thank you for coming, but maybe you shouldn't stay." Neji shook his head. "I sent a note to the host that I'd be attending alone. We don't want to throw off their seating arrangements, that would be rude."

"And you'd know rude." She muttered.

"What?"

"You don't need to make any excuses for me." She said, shaking her head as she frowned.

Neji sighed. "Look, I'm not trying to be mean here. If you want to stay for the dinner, I'll make it alright with the Aburame." He offered magnanimously.

"Don't do me any favors." TenTen said sharply, narrowing her gaze on him. "Look, Neji. I can't believe you don't already know this. But we're through."

"Through what?" He asked absently, peering through the crowd for their host.

TenTen sighed, putting her hand on his arm. "Neji." She waited until he looked over at her. "This isn't a good time or place. But I'm done. With us I mean. Not that there really is an 'us' to be done with, but this casual way we have of seeing only each other? I'm done."

Neji shook his head mutely, licking his suddenly dry lips. "What do you mean?"

TenTen smiled wanly and shrugged. "I'm tired of being there when you want to go out, but you not being there for me." She squared her shoulders and looked over her shoulder, catching sight of the Sand siblings arriving. "I'm here with someone else."

She smiled apologetically and left him there alone as she made her way to the front of the room.

_Are you here alone?_ Suddenly, all the strange looks and comments sharpened into a scenario he wasn't prepared for. He stood there blankly for a moment until Kurenai walked up beside him.

"What's the matter? You look pale." Kurenai paused and looked at the Hyuuga a moment. "Paler than usual, I mean."

Neji shook his head mutely. "I seem to have broken up with my girlfriend, but I appear to be the last to know."

"I'm sorry."

Neji's eyes narrowed as he turned his gaze on the jounin kunoichi. "You knew?"

"The whole village knows." She sighed. "I didn't think you DID'NT know. It's really harsh to tell you like this though."

"So, do you know WHY? Because I don't." Neji stiffened as he watched TenTen approach the Sand siblings, her smile turning almost coquettish. He hadn't even known she _could _smile like that.

"_Undateable for the crimes of being relationship lazy, forgetful, arrogant, and taking people for granted_." Kurenai quoted reluctantly. "I'm sorry. Though my team seems to have been the beneficiaries." She said with a quirky smile.

"Your team?" Neji asked, still feeling shocked. "How?"

"The 'undateable' list." Kure

nai paused, then patted his arm sympathetically. "You, Sasuke, Naruto, and Shikamaru. That means the remaining eligible males are now ..."

"Eligable?" Neji said bitterly as he saw Kankuro laugh at something TenTen said to him.

"No. Taken." Kurenai smiled, shaking her head. "They're all taken. And I love it. I'm sorry for you, but ...from what I hear, you only have yourself to blame."

"Huh?" Neji said, then groaned as he saw Kankuro put his hand on TenTen's back, guiding her through the room.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro half-listened as TenTen introduced him around the room full of guests. He made note of names and faces, but the bulk of his attention was on the long-legged beauty beside him.

He looked over at her, smiling at his side, and let his dark gaze glide over her again. He couldn't believe he had never noticed before just how gorgeous she was. Sure, he'd known she was cute. But with her hair up and acting all business, he had never seen just how soft her eyes could look. And sure she wasn't as curvy as some women, but damn, her legs went on and on forever! Kankuro had struggled not to drool when he'd first caught sight of her in the little green dress with knotted Chinese closures.

TenTen waited until they were alone once more before turning her dark eyes up toward him. "You're staring." She said plainly.

"Your fault." He said, his lip curling up sensually.

"How?" She asked, blinking up at him.

Kankuro shrugged, then grinned. "You look so damned beautiful tonight."

Blushing slightly, TenTen turned her gaze from his, unable to handle the look he was giving her. Her eyes fell on Neji's frowning face as he watched from across the room. She stiffened automatically.

The puppeteer followed her gaze, then gave a mocking wave to the Hyuuga shinobi. TenTen pulled his hand down with a frown. "Don't do that!"

"He's already upset with me, so why should I not poke the beast?" Kankuro mock pouted.

"It's rude." She scolded lightly.

"I'm ALWAYS rude. I thought you knew that?" The puppeteer grinned down at her. TenTen blinked up at him, then smiled as she actually chuckled. She reached up to touch his face and he stilled.

Kankuro held his breath as she traced one of his cheek bones, then ran her fingertips lightly over his ear. "You look so different without the hood and make-up."

"Facial paints." He corrected absently.

"I like your face." She said softly and he nearly shuddered with pleasure.

The Sand shinobi sighed longingly. "Am I going to have to fight the Hyuuga?"

TenTen grimaced. "I don't think he'll care enough to fight for me. And if he does, it's probably only for his bruised pride." She sighed and glanced over at where Neji was now talking with Shino and his father. "I'm your escort, if you're attacked I'll defend you."

Kankuro groaned and ran his eyes over her lithe form again. "I can lend you some weapons."

TenTen stiffened slightly as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Why? I'm armed."

"Where?" He asked huskily, then widened his eyes as she told him. As the list of available weapons continued his breath shortened and his heart sped up. "How many weapons do you hold on that little scrap of silk?" He said breathlessly as he looked at the bow in her long tresses. When she told him, his knees nearly buckled. He grinned fatuously at her, wondering how he'd gotten so lucky.

o.o.o.o.o

"W ...would you like to come inside?" Hinata asked, blushing lightly. Her mind raced, but she couldn't come up with a single good reason to invite Chouji into the house. There was nothing she needed his opinion on, or for him to see, or ...or ...or anything! Only the fact that she wasn't ready to end the date.

Chouji nodded and looked down at their linked hands, not needing an excuse to want to come in. He smiled and raised his gaze to hers. "I'd like that." He said, just wanting to spend more time with her. "Hinata?"

"What?" She asked breathlessly as he stopped just outside her front door.

His dark eyes peered deeply into her pale-lilac eyes. He sighed happily.

Hinata smiled and nudged him. "What?" She prodded him gently.

"You are so beautiful." He whispered, his hand drawing her closer to him unconsciously.

Embarrassed, she shook her head and looked down. He reached out with his free hand and tilted her chin up with the most subtle of pressure. "You are." Chouji whispered again, feeling dizzy.

"T ...thank you." She stammered, her cheeks a dusky rose and her lips trembling slightly.

"Hinata?" He asked. "I'd ...I'd like to kiss you."

Her slight blush darkened becomingly, but she did not move away, instead swaying toward him. "I ...I've never kissed anyone be ...before." She said hesitantly.

"Me neither." He admitted slowly. "I won't if you don't want me to though."

Hinata bit her bottom lip and shook her head slightly. "No. No, I'd ...I'd like that."

Holding his breath, Chouji bent his head toward hers. Slowly, softly, their lips met as she lifted up on her toes to meet him. Their breath mingled as they kissed ever so gently. Suddenly, she giggled.

Chouji pulled back and gave her a wide-eyed look. She saw his face and giggled even more. When he started to step back, though, she moved in closer to him. He stopped and gave her a questioning look.

"Hinata?"

She shook her head mutely, smiling happily. "My toes are tingling." She told him, then her smile grew into a grin.

He sighed and the tension that held him melted slowly away. "And this is a _good_ thing?" He teased her.

Hinata nodded, "The best."

The lights on the outside of the house suddenly flicked off, then back on again. Hinata stiffened, then looked regretfully at Chouji. "I guess I need to go in now."

"We." He said smoothly. "You invited me in, remember?"

She nodded, and still holding his hand, led him into the Hyuuga residence. Seeing her father in the door of his library, she stopped, suddenly unsure. Chouji sensed her sudden nervousness. He looked over at her father and bowed formally. "Lord Hiashi."

"Akamichi." Hiashi acknowledged, he looked over at his daughter with an unreadable look. "Hanabi and I were about to watch a special on television. Would you and the young man care to join us?"

Pleasantly shocked, Hinata nodded mutely, her eyes huge.

Hiashi grunted and indicated they should follow him into the library. Hidden from their view, he smiled. He'd been watching the two from inside the house with the use of his Byakugan the whole time, having sensed their approaching chakra. Hiashi was quite pleased that the Akamichi had accompanied his daughter inside after he'd blinked the outside lights. Rather than let the girl face the family alone, he'd escorted her home and didn't protest about spending time with her father.

He wasn't sure what had sparked his daughter's interest in the Akamichi heir, but he was very grateful. As far as he was concerned, everything was falling together nicely.

o.o.o.o.o

"Hyuuga?" Shizune asked. "Not Haruno or Yamanaka?"

Tsunade sighed, rubbing at the bridge of her nose. "He's definitely looking to court the Hyuuga girl. He was quite specific."

Shizune sighed and shook her head. "Will the clan leader go for that?"

Tsunade sighed and shook her head. "I don't know. I gave Sasuke permission to ask them though." The Hokage looked up and shrugged at her assistant. "You have the guard cycles set up, right?"

"Hai." Shizune nodded. "He has no less than five guards escorting him. And that's only the _visible_ escorts. Although, I'm pretty sure he knows about even the hidden ones already."

The Hokage snorted indelicately. "I have no doubt."

"Hinata?" Shizune sighed deeply. "I never thought he'd noticed her like that, not before he left the village."

"He didn't." Tsunade gritted her teeth. "His reasons are purely practical. I don't know what he's thinking, but even I wouldn't lose the bet if I wagered he wasn't going to try and court the girl out of any romantic feelings."

o.o.o.o.o

Neji ambushed her as she came out of the ladies room. TenTen looked at his hard expression and sighed. "Now is not the time or place." She told him.

"Don't give me that." He hissed. "I hear we're broken up, but you don't tell me yourself?"

TenTen quirked her head to one side, sending a soft wave of long hair over his arm. "I distinctly remember telling you 'I'm done'. Now when was that? Oh right, tonight."

"But why?" Neji asked, pulling harder on her arm.

She stiffened and stared at him until he released her arm. TenTen rotated her shoulder as she talked. "Neji, look ...I ...I'm tired of being the decoration on your arm. I'm tired of having to explain to my parents how you aren't being rude or mean by not remembering my birthday. I don't want to have to sit through another Hyuuga function when you can't even bother to escort me to my own cousin's wedding."

"I told you I was sorry about that, I got the dates mixed up." Neji ran an agitated hand over his hair.

TenTen sighed. "If it were only once or twice, I'd let it go. Hell, Neji, I DID let it go. But I'm done doing that. Look, we've been seeing each other for a long time now and I have yet to have to push your hands away."

Neji started, then glared at her. "Is that Sand shinobi putting his hands on you?"

Her dark eyes bored into his as her mouth firmed stubbornly. "No. But I can tell he wants too, which is more than I can say for you. I've even wondered if you were using me to hide behind."

"What do you mean by that?" He barked, looking terribly unhappy with her. "No. Never mind. TenTen, I want you back."

"Why?" She leaned back, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What do you mean why?" Neji snarled.

TenTen just looked at him. "I mean WHY do you want me back? You didn't even seem to notice me when I was there for you, so why even bothering to notice now? Your pride?"

"No!" He snapped.

"Then why do you want me back?" She asked, genuinely wanting to hear the answer.

Neji stared at her, but nothing came immediately to his mind.

TenTen's eyes looked sorrowful as she sighed. "We'll be friends and teammates. But as for anything else, I think we need to move on. See other people."

"Like Kankuro?" He scowled at her.

TenTen shook her head. "Like anyone." She said, then gave him one last look. "Neji, you're not a bad guy. But you have to learn to pay more attention. You know more about our missions and our enemies than you know about me."

"That's not true!" He reached for her hand, but she pulled back.

"Who were Orochimaru's antecedents? What is the name of Kisame's sword?"

Neji blinked, then listed ever known member of Orochimaru's family background back through the fourth generation. He then not only named the sword, but the creator of the infamous weapon.

TenTen smiled weakly at him. "When is my birthday? What foods am I allergic too? And what are the names of my grandparents?"

He gaped at her. "That's not fair!" Neji growled as he watched her walk away. "And your birthday is March 9th!"

TenTen turned to glare at him. "So? You remember now? You didn't even acknowledge the last two of my birthdays. Oh wait, you did bring me a jar of strawberry preserves last year. A week late."

Neji growled and rolled his eyes. "I apologized for that too! I'm sorry I forgot that you were allergic to strawberries!"

"I'm just a habit for you. Available and compliant. Well, that's over." She gave him a small frown and a shake of her head. "Neji, you remember everything that's _important_ to you. Before you get all worked up about this, just remember that little fact."

He watched her walk away from him, her hair swaying with the rhythm of her walk. His teeth ground together harshly as she walked up to Kankuro and smiled up at the puppet ninja. But somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if she was right about him. Were his feelings for her more habit than anything else? But if so, why did it hurt so much to see her so happy while looking at someone else?

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara sighed and rolled his shoulders for the fifth time in fifteen minutes. Ino watched him even as she talked about the new construction project near her home. "And I told the foreman that I had to sleep late because I got in late, but he just blew me off. Said a little girl like me shouldn't be staying out so late partying. Partying? Like I'm some civilian twit! I wanted to tell him that I'd just completed a 'B' ranked mission that had blossomed into an 'A' ranked one when Shi... Shikamaru discovered those hidden caches of poisons."

He noted the hesitation in her voice as she named her teammate. Gaara frowned and blinked his eyes rapidly, the pain in his head making him feel foggy.

"I'm sorry, I must be driving you insane." Ino chirped as she saw the expression of pain on his face. "I never know when to shut up, everyone always tells me that."

"You're fine." He said gruffly, surprised to find he actually meant it. He usually hated the sort of female that felt the need to fill any silence with a river of meaningless words. But tonight, throughout the Aburame dinner, Ino had done the talking and saved him from having to make small talk. She'd shouldered the social niceties, and allowed him to speak only when he needed to do so. She had a seemingly instinctual grasp on when to speak up and when to let him talk. He really kind of appreciated her taking on the bulk of social chit chat.

Not that he hadn't enjoyed the dinner. It had surprised him how at ease Temari had seemed with Shino and how pleasantly the Aburame family had greeted he and his brother. It was only then that he'd realized that he'd never been introduced to Shikamaru's family. Not even once.

"Do you want me to kill him?"

Ino blinked, looking shocked. "The construction foreman? No. He's not that bad, really, just stupid."

Gaara snorted and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I meant Shikamaru."

"Oh." Ino said, then sighed reluctantly. "No."

"Do you still care for him then?" He asked, then wondered why his stomach knotted until she shook her head negatively.

"Yes, but not romantically. He's my teammate and I need to find a way to work with him. It was my fault anyway."

His attention caught, Gaara turned his pale-jade eyes on her. "Your fault?"

Ino blushed slightly and wouldn't meet his gaze. "I nagged him into dating me. I swear I didn't know he was seeing Temari though."

Gaara growled, then winced as his head protested. "You can't force a man to date you. All he had to do was say he was already seeing someone. That is not your fault."

Ino smiled at him, finally relaxing a bit. The Kazekage of Suna was proving to be a surprise. He'd been with her all evening and hadn't told her to shut up even once. A new record. And she knew that when she got nervous, she talked even more than usual. And Gaara made her nervous.

She was about to excuse herself for the evening when she saw him wince again. She groaned. "I'm so stupid! You have a headache. I'm so sorry, as a medical nin I should have noticed sooner."

"I'm fine." He lied, rolling his shoulders again.

"Sit back, I'll take care of it." She ordered him, pushing him over toward the futon.

Gaara shook his head, then winced at the intensified pain as he did so. Because of that she managed to push him into sitting on the futon. He was dimly aware she'd moved behind his seat. It was as she reached for him that he stiffened, suddenly on edge.

"Relax." She ordered firmly as she touched his shoulders.

Her touch startled him into a stillness. She frowned as she pulled him back to toward her. Ino dug her hands in, but his skin didn't give. At all. "Is this you or your sand armor?"

Gaara shrugged and withdrew his sand, wondering even as he did so why he was trusting her at his back. Then all of a sudden he groaned in pleasure. Her fingers were magic, pure magic. He could feel the subtle pulse of chakra as she soothed the nerve endings in his neck and head. Gaara imagined he could just about feel his blood vessels dilating, allowing the blood flow to pour through him unheeded, unblocked.

Relief made him feel almost giddy as he let his head drop back on the futon. He distantly listened as Ino explained something about medical training, then segued into the tale of an amusing incident with a couple of genin who'd gotten themselves glued together. The last thing he remembered was the soothing rise and fall of her voice drifting over him.

Ino grimaced as she heard Gaara's light snore. Had she bored him into falling asleep? No, no of course not. He'd just been tired from the travel and the dinner party, she assured herself.

Not sure what to do, she helped him lie down on the futon, removed his boots and covered him with a couple of blankets. With one last look at him, she slipped from the guest apartment. He looked so peaceful asleep like that, adorable actually. Too bad he didn't seem to be interested in her. Ino sighed. Lee or Sai? Where should she start?

She nodded to the Suna guards as she left. They nodded back, then went into the apartment to make sure their Kazekage didn't need anything. When they saw Gaara asleep, they looked at each other with wide eyes and backed carefully back out of the apartment.

"Did she attack him?" One asked quietly, once they were back outside.

"No." The other said wonderingly. "His chakra is flowing well from what I could sense. He's really asleep."

The first man whistled low. "Be sure not to mention this to Matsuri or the other girls."

The second man nodded sagely. "Of course not. But ...but do you remember a time he felt comfortable enough to fall asleep with someone else in the room?"

"No." The first man said and shook his head. "Never."

"He was smiling." The second guard noted with a sharp look. "Did you see that? In his sleep, he was actually smiling."

"I saw." The first man sighed and wondered what it all meant.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji had a raging headache as he slipped into his small house in the Hyuuga family compound. It had been a looong night. He had so much to think about too. With a sigh, he didn't bother to turn on the lights as she changed into sleep pants and headed toward bed. Tomorrow he'd think it all through again, see if he could come up with a plan of action to retrieve TenTen from the Suna puppeteer.

Lying down, he was half-way asleep when his eyes popped back open. He sat up and stared at the wall across from his bed. What was that? He reached over and turned on the bedside lamp.

A picture?

Neji got up and went to stare uncomprehendingly at the portrait now gracing his wall. A portrait of him. With careful print outlining why he was now not-dateable. With a sick certainty he realized that this picture had to be one of the ones in the book that he'd noticed around town. The one Kakashi had been looking at.

Groaning, he felt sick to his stomach as he plucked the envelope stuck to the frame. He opened the note and read it over about ten times, his anger rising.

"Hanabi!" He yelled, wincing as he did so. "Damned brat."

o.o.o.o.o

**Yep. Sasuke's back. But that's not necessarily a good thing. And Naruto is about to find out about his part in all of this. And what of the fate of the alternates? More to come soon!**

**As always, I would love to hear what you think of the story so far! Reviews are welcomed and encouraged. LOL**


	9. The Scent of Lilies

Kankuro scratched his head and looked helplessly over at his brother. For his part, Gaara felt just as perplexed as his older brother looked, he just didn't bother to show it.

"Flowers?" The puppeteer wondered aloud.

Gaara shrugged and turned away from the perplexing delivery. "They must be for you. I guess you were considered 'Hot' last night after all." He said in an insulting manner. "No accounting for taste."

But the puppet user just shrugged off the jibe. "I don't think so. TenTen doesn't seem the type to send a bunch of lilies to a guy. A brace of weapons maybe, but hardly flowers. Unless they were really weapons in disguise. But these smell real enough."

"You looked like you were having fun last night." Gaara said soberly as he headed toward the kitchen where the scent of brewing tea drew him like a siren's call. The smell of the tea mingled with the scent from the lilies and while he would have thought the two would clash …they didn't somehow.

Kankuro grinned and stretched as he yawned. "We have a date later today." He bragged.

"I meant with Neji." Gaara poured his tea and took that first grateful sip.

"No, I don't have a date with him." Kankuro laughed mockingly. "Though it looked like he wanted to set up a date with me. To fight that is."

"Like I said. Having fun." Gaara pointed out as he headed back toward his desk. Only to draw up short as he saw the large arrangement of lilies still sitting square in the middle of his working space. He frowned at them just as someone knocked on his door.

Matsuri, Suzue, and Harumi slipped inside and the red-head bit back his instinctual groan. He gave his brother a look silently asking why he couldn't just kill off his fangirls.

Kankuro laughed and shook his head before grabbing some toast and heading toward the door with a small wave. He stopped, only because the girls didn't move out of his way. They stood fully in front of the doorway, blocking the exit. He frowned at them, but they weren't paying him any attention at all.

All three girls were glaring …at the flowers.

"Yamanaka's family owns a flower shop, right?" Suzue scowled gloomily.

Kankuro's eyes widened and he turned a wide grin on his baby brother. Pointing at Gaara, he crowed, "SCORE! You were the hottie, not me!"

"Hot? As if you could hold …a ….a …" Harumi trailed off as she finally looked at the now barefaced and hood-doffed shinobi. "Kankuro? Is that really you?"

Gaara sighed. "I should have unmasked you years ago, it might have saved me from this trio." He muttered mostly to himself.

The puppeteer shook his head. "No. No, they're all yours. I've got a date already and I'm keeping her. Three months be damned and screw the rules."

"Hyuuga?" Gaara temporized.

"Dead, if he bothers to interfere." Kankuro shrugged and muscled his way through his brother's fangirls to the door. "I'll try to avoid an international incident. Maybe."

"Or at least hide the body." Gaara said, only half-joking.

Matsuri scowled at both guys, leaning against the door to keep the puppeteer from opening it. "We've heard about the 'undateable' list in this town. Ridiculous! And to think these Leaf girls want to add you two? NO!"

Suzue stalked over to the arrangement of lilies. "Did that blond cat send you these, Gaara?"

"Kazekage-sama." Gaara said softly to himself. He'd allowed the people of Suna a lot of personal attention and familiarity of address over the years. At first it had been to help overcome the 'monster' image. Now it was habit. But right now, hearing his name drop so casually from the brunette's lips just didn't sit well.

Harumi grunted and misread his meaning. "Gaara's right! I mean, the Kazekage-sama. We need to be addressing him formally in front of these Leaf twits. Uphold the image of the office."

Gaara didn't bother to correct her assumption.

"There's a card." Sneered Suzue as the other two girls rushed to her side.

Kankuro paused, an eyebrow raised as he looked over at his brother. "You didn't look for a card?"

"You didn't either." Gaara shrugged. Truthfully, it never occurred to him. "I've never gotten flowers before."

"Me neither." Kankuro admitted, wandering back over toward his little brother.

**Sorry to bore you into slumber, hope you'll forgive me**

**Ino**

Suzue and Harumi laughed and congratulated themselves in knowing that Ino wasn't any TRUE rival for 'their Gaara's' affections.

Only Matsuri and Kankuro looked startled. "Asleep?" The puppeteer whispered huskily.

Gaara refused to answer, or even meet his brother's eyes as he returned to the kitchen for a refill on tea that he didn't need.

Beside the other girls, Matsuri's world crumbled and unraveled. Gaara had …fallen asleep? With Ino in the room? The former student stared at where her sensei had disappeared into the kitchen. She tuned out the stupidity of the other two fangirls as they dismissed the Leaf kunoichi as a 'twit'.

Kankuro met Matsuri's eyes and he gave her a sympathetic look. She sighed and nodded, straightening her shoulders. If this Yamanaka made Gaara that comfortable …then all Matsuri could do was step aside. She'd known for a long time now that Gaara held no interest in her, but she'd hung on to hope as long as he'd remained aloof to other women.

Unlike many fangirls, Matsuri wasn't blinded by an image of who she thought Gaara should be. She saw him as he was. She admired him, respected him and loved him in her own way. She waited to be overcome with a sense of grief, but what came was a feeling of peace and completion. Sure, it hurt he was never going to look at her with love in his eyes. But the knowledge that he'd found someone soothed her like she never would have thought possible. All she wanted was for him to be happy. Though, she'd always hoped it would have been with her.

Matsuri reached out to touch one of the long stems gently. "What do lilies mean?" She asked of no one in particular.

Suzue grinned and shrugged. "That this girl knows nothing! I would have picked a cactus flower, or something more familiar to Gaara."

"Kazekage-sama." Matsuri corrected absently. "No. I meant, in the language of flowers what do lilies mean?"

"Flowers have their own language?" Kankuro asked as both the other fangirls started frowning again.

"I don't know." Harumi sighed, shaking her head as she stared scornfully at the lovely blooms.

Gaara came back into the room, looking stoic as he stared at all the people in his space. "I need to work." He announced, more to get rid of everyone than out of any actual sense of duty to mind-numbing paperwork.

"Did you know flowers have a language?" The puppeteer asked his brother with a wide grin.

Gaara gave his brother an odd look, shaking his head. "Flowers don't talk."

Matsuri gave a tired smile. "No. Each flower has a meaning when given to another person. I'll bet Ino knows all about it. I just wondered what lilies mean."

Gaara turned his jade-pale eyes on the flowers. There was a message in the flowers themselves? Was this a code he was supposed to know?

"I think we need to teach this Leaf twit a lesson!" Harumi groused, riling up her sister Suzue in the process. "Let's go!"

Matsuri frowned. "I don't think …"

"No! Go, please!" Kankuro sighed happily. "I'm leaving too. You all go search out this Ino and find out what this all means."

Gaara watched with amazement as the fangirls left him alone with his brother. Usually, they were much tougher to get rid of than that.

The puppeteer laughed. "They're gone. Lock the door, post a guard, and you'll be fine. The fangirls have a new target for a while. Poor Ino. I'm going to go find TenTen."

"Don't kill the Hyuuga unless you have no other choice." Gaara warned his brother as Kankuro slipped from the apartment. Finally alone, he sighed. Turning to his desk, he leaned in and sniffed the pretty lilies. They were nice enough, he supposed. But what did they mean?

o.o.o.o.o

"It's turning cold again." Temari shivered lightly in the morning fog, even in her heavy coat.

Shino nodded as the two ducked into the restaurant. "It's been unseasonably warm for January actually."

"It gets cold in the desert at night, but it's not wet like it is here." Temari complained. "I had to wear two pairs of socks to bed last night!"

"Really?" Shino asked, his tone sounding surprised.

Temari glared at him in his usual coat. Then she frowned. He always wore the same thing. Always. "Don't you get cold in the winter or hot in the summer? How can you always wear the same thing like that?"

"Aburame secret." He whispered, his lips quirking up into a small smile.

Instantly alert, Temari stilled. "What do you mean?"

Shino looked around carefully, then pulled her into the coat room. Slowly he unbuttoned her heavy coat as she watched him wide-eyed. "We Aburame have a little …secret." He whispered, making her shiver again, but this time not from the cold.

Shino slipped his hands inside her coat, pulling her closer to him so their lips were barely an inch apart. Temari's mouth fell open slightly as she stared at him, totally nonplussed. "Huh?" Was the best she could manage under the circumstances.

"The kikai? The bugs regulate our body temperature. We don't really feel the cold or the heat too much." Shino whispered huskily against her lips, then he closed the distance and stole a warm, lingering kiss.

The polite coughing of the girl whose job it was to collect the coats made Shino smile as Temari growled menacingly at the interloper. The kunoichi stepped out of his reach and hissed at him. "What makes you think you can get away with that?"

Shino shrugged and leaned in to give her a swift buzz on the lips. "Because you let me do that in the hallway at home, at the Hokage tower, on the training field, and …."

Temari stepped on his foot and marched on by him without a backward glance. He followed, still smiling. She pretended to ignore him as he put in a request for a table.

The coat check girl giggled, then gave an attention-getting hiss at Temari who narrowed her eyes on the girl. But the other girl only smiled wider. "Question?"

Temari raised one eyebrow in an almost dare. "If you feel brave enough to ask."

The girl chuckled. "My younger sister is a kunoichi, she graduated a few years ago. She got a copy of your 'undateable' book, and we've all heard how you've all got new guys."

"Go on." Temari said, softening her tone a bit. "You have someone you want added to the list?"

The coat check girl nodded. "Two actually. But what my sister really wants to know, is who's left? She doesn't want to step on anyone's toes as she just made chuunin. So …who's still out there?"

Temari laughed outright, drawing admiring glances from several males in the vicinity. But only the one in the dark sunglasses dared to walk up beside her and slip his arm around her waist. He glanced at the other girl curiously.

The Sand kunoichi grinned and allowed Shino to guide her into the main dining room. "Send the names of the two 'undateables' to Sakura, she'll know what to do. As for the other …the alternates are Lee and Sai. Oh, and Naruto …he'll be off probation soon enough."

Shino gave Temari an odd look as they headed toward their table. "Looking to trade me in already?"

Temari shook her head, pursing her lips together. "Try and drop me and I'll kill you." She warned with a dark look promising pain and suffering.

"You only had a humiliating picture drawn of Shikamaru." He pointed out reasonably as they settled into their seats.

Temari growled at him in a very menacing manner, making his spine tingle with appreciation. "If you did that to me, I'd have you drawn, quartered, and leave your intestines out for the ants while you still lived."

Shino actually laughed, reaching out for her hand across the table. "Ah, you do care." He sighed happily. "And the ants were a nice touch."

Temari pulled back, looking all strange. He blinked. "What?"

She stared at him. "I do care. More than with …oh crap. I just mean … I …care." Temari looked away as she realized suddenly and with great clarity, that if Shino cheated on her she wouldn't just be angry. She'd be murderously furious.

Shino stared at her for a long moment, then nodded. "Me too."

o.o.o.o.o

"Sakura!"

The pink-haired kunoichi grinned as her blond teammate ran to catch up with her.

"Whatcha doing?" Naruto asked her as he fell into synch beside her. He walked along at her side, his hands up behind his head in his usual casual pose.

"I need to check on some linen. Our usual supplier hasn't been very conscientious with quality lately. Tsunade wanted me to check out another store and compare products." Sakura explained.

"Boring!" Naruto sighed. "Why don't you come train with me instead?"

"Translated, that means you're going nuts waiting to hear if the council will let Sasuke back in the village and you want to get your mind off of it all." Sakura teased him, stopping to look her long-time friend and teammate in the eye.

He cackled and shrugged unrepentantly. "Don't tell me you're not nervous about it too."

Sakura sighed and shrugged. "To tell the truth, Naruto, I'm not sure."

"WHAT?" He asked, goggling at her in shock. "But …but …you're the one who made me promise to bring him back and …and …."

Sakura shook her head. "I know. But ...that was a long time ago. I've changed. He's changed. Everything's different. Except you. You're stronger, sure. But ...you're the best friend a girl could have." She said, completely meaning it. Sure he was dense and clueless at times, but he was brave and strong and willing to put aside his own personal feelings in order to save hers.

"Gee thanks, Sakura!" He grinned widely at her, eyes closed with happiness. "Do you want to …."

"No." She smiled at his suddenly crestfallen look. "Friend, not boyfriend." She reached out to brush some imaginary dirt off his coat. "I care for you deeply, but not like that. You know that too."

"Yeah, yeah." Naruto grumbled, having heard this a million times before. "But it's not as if gorgeous and strong women just fall from the sky around ….around …here." He trailed off uncertainly. "Is that …Hinata?"

Sakura turned and spied the Hyuuga kunoichi staring at store's display. The pink-haired woman chuckled and nodded. "Yep."

"Wow." Naruto moaned as his eyes widened. "She's really pretty."

Shocked, Sakura stared at him in surprise. "She looks the same as she always has."

"No." Naruto shook his head, still watching the long-haired Byakugan user as she spoke with the shop clerk. "Something's different. She's …amazing looking."

Curious, Sakura turned to look at Hinata and was about to argue the point when she realized what the change was. It wasn't what Hinata had done, but what she wasn't doing. She wasn't stammering, she wasn't looking away, and she wasn't turning red. Sakura grinned. "She's in love. That'll change a girl."

"Love?" Naruto shook his head. "Wow. I wish I'd seen her first. Why do I never get a chance with the great looking girls? I never get to meet them first. No girl ever looks at me like that. Especially not ones like Hinata."

Sakura sighed and knocked him down just for the hell of it. She stalked away after giving him the evil eye. "I almost felt sorry for you, you know. Told a few girls you were available, or would be in three months. But now I see you really DO belong on probation!"

"Whatja mean by that?" Naruto winced and rubbed his aching head. "What'd I say?" He wondered absently.

o.o.o.o.o

"Have a seat." Hiashi gestured politely. "Tea? Some breakfast?"

"No, thank you." Sasuke said quietly.

"Now. I have cleared my schedule to speak with you today. I believe you said it was a matter of importance?" The Hyuuga spoke carefully, taking a seat not at his desk, but beside his visitor.

Sasuke nodded. "I trust you've heard the council's decision regarding my request?"

"Indeed." Hiashi nodded in return. "How does that affect me and mine, however?"

"Alliances. Possible alliances. Specifically with your elder daughter, who is no longer your heir I believe?" Sasuke said, then without further ado, outlined his requests and how agreeing with him would benefit the entire Hyuuga clan.

Hiashi listened intently, weighing every word carefully.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro slipped up behind TenTen and wrapped his arms around her, only to find himself hugging a log. He grinned at the replacement jutsu and turned to look for his original target.

"Having fun?" TenTen smirked, leaning against the wall of the apartment lobby.

The puppeteer smiled back at her and held the log tighter to his chest. "Your first present to me! I'll treasure it always."

"Jerk." She groused, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. "Throw that away and let's go eat some breakfast."

Kankuro frowned. "Throw it away? Are you crazy? This was a gift from a beautiful girl. I never throw gifts away."

"You get many?" She asked pointedly.

He shook his head. "One of my first. And the only one that means anything to me."

"Oh?" TenTen shook her head. "And what does that log mean to you?"

Kankuro held it out like a baby he was inspecting. "This is cedar. Quite the thing for carving."

She blinked. "You're really going to keep it, aren't you?"

The puppeteer tucked the short log under his arm and held out the other arm for her. "Feed me first, then I'll tell you all the things I can do with this baby."

"Good with your hands are you?" She said, then nearly choked as she realized what she'd said and what the innuendo must sound like.

Kankuro waggled his eyebrows at her. "Oh. You have NO idea how good I can be with my hands."

TenTen shivered under his suggestive look. Then she grinned. The perfect gentleman that Neji was, he would have ignored her words or taken them only at face value. Kankuro was another animal entirely. And she wasn't sure how to handle him or how to take him at times.

It was thrilling.

"Lead on." She said, taking his arm.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino knocked on the Kazekage's door, ignoring the odd looks from his guards. She had butterflies in her stomach. As she waited at the door, she went over her speech in her mind. She was going to tell him she was sorry for boring him to death last night, and that he could request another escort if that suited him.

Not that she looked forward to seeking out Lee or Sai. It seemed every available kunoichi, and even some civilians, had been asking about the alternates on their list. Ino had steered quite a few toward Lee and Sai in the past few days. Maybe she should go to the Winter Festival alone? The thought did NOT appeal.

Gaara opened the door himself, scowling at her. "About time."

"Huh?" Ino said, then walked inside and unwrapped herself from her heavy coat. "I'm here at the time you said yesterday."

"What kind of lily?" He asked her, staring holes through her head.

"What?" Ino frowned, then sighed. "Oh! You got the flowers."

Gaara nodded and held up a book. "Are they Calia, Tiger, or Day Lilies?"

Ino reached for the book he was holding, but he pulled it back out of her reach. "What is that?" She asked.

The red-head sighed and led the way into the main room, sitting down at his desk and staring at her flowers. "I had my guard go to the bookstall to find this. It's about flower languages or some such." He admitted reluctantly, his voice gruff.

"Oh." Ino's jaw dropped. He was trying to figure out the message behind the flowers? How sweet! Unless, unless …he didn't WANT the message to be too gooey. "What do you want them to say?"

"No." Gaara turned the full force of his gaze on her, pinning her in place. His eyes took in every nuance of her stance, her expression, and if his eyes lingered on her figure a bit too long …he sighed and turned away. "What did you MEAN them to say?"

"Happy birthday." She said quietly. "I looked it up. Today's your birthday."

Gaara's stomach tumbled into freefall as he turned wide eyes on her. "My what?"

"Birthday." She smiled and walked over to the flowers, tweaking the arrangement some. "Someone's been in these."

"The fangirls." He admitted absently.

Ino smirked and looked around. "They're gone." Somehow, it didn't sound like a question.

Gaara nodded. "They're looking for you probably. You are armed, right?"

The blond nodded. "Always." She leaned in and sniffed the lilies. "I love the smell of these flowers. They're one of my favorites. I don't get to send them usually. Because of the message they imply."

The Kazekage frowned and opened his book, pointing toward a passage. "So. For my birthday. Which I _never_ celebrate …you were trying to say, what? Beauty, Flirty, Maiden Charms? None of those make sense."

Ino giggled and turned bright eyes on him. Gaara stilled, the sound of her laughter soothed him somehow. This was much better than her over-bright and almost frightened smiles of yesterday. "Well?" He asked, feeling the bite of curiousity.

"Beauty is for Calia lilies and Tiger lilies mean wealth and pride." Ino said with a glint of humor in her eyes. "But these …" She touched the flowers gently. "These are _general_ lilies. Nothing special."

"Nothing special." He echoed, feeling a bit disappointed in that answer. Did that mean he meant nothing to her at all? Not that he was LOOKING for anything. He didn't have room in his life for such nonsense. Still …_nothing special_? "I see." Gaara nodded. He should have known better, instead of trying to read too much into the unexpected gift.

"Your fangirls already found me this morning." Ino smiled at him as she dropped that bombshell on him. With seeming casualness, she headed toward his kitchen. "I smell tea."

"Help yourself." He said while following her. "Wait. They found you?"

"Don't worry, they're still breathing." Ino found the tea cups and poured herself some. "Tea?"

"I already had some." He admitted reluctantly. "So …so what happened?"

"Matsuri is talking to Lee and the other two are getting stitches." Ino shrugged with a small blush.

"They attacked you?" He growled, his gaze narrowing dangerously.

Ino sighed and gave him an embarrassed look. "They attacked each other. That's my official story and I'm sticking to it."

Gaara gaped at her a moment before remembering just what kind of family jutsu she possessed. Mind control. He coughed and almost smiled. "Stitches?"

"Not very many." Ino shook her head sadly. "Matsuri stepped in and prevented too much damage."

"And now she's talking to Lee?" Gaara asked, still unsure.

Ino shrugged. "She'd heard you speak well of Lee and that was good enough for her. The other two might be harder to convince. Still, for today the lilies worked."

"Yes. No, wait. What?" Gaara sighed and went back to his book, picking it up to flip through the pages. "What do the lilies have to do with the fangirls? I thought the flowers meant nothing special."

Ino shook her head and laughed, following him back to the main room. "No. I said the lilies were just general lilies and were nothing special in that they're not a _specific type_ of lily."

Gaara found the right passage and read for a moment. Finally he looked up at her, struggling not to smile full out. "General lilies mean …"

"To keep unwanted visitors away." Ino finished for him with a suddenly solemn look. "That means fangirls and escorts alike. If you want."

Suddenly feeling over his head, Gaara gave her an unreadable expression. "What do you mean by that?"

Ino sighed unhappily. "I bored you last night. I talked so much that you fell asleep. I'm …embarrassed and I hope you …well, anyway …I wanted to apologize. And I wanted to tell you that if you want a different escort I'd be happy to explain to the Hokage that …"

"No."

"That you wanted someone different …" She continued unabated, not really registering his comment.

"No." He said again, louder.

" …and that way she could …wait. What?" Ino blinked over at him, finally stilling her mouth.

Gaara shrugged, feeling unsure of himself. "Thank you?"

She stared at him, for once silent.

Still out of his depth, the red-head nodded toward the flowers. "I like them. I like the fact that the trio isn't here." He paused, but she didn't say anything, so he cleared his throat. "And I like that you are."

Ino blinked hard.

"Here that is." He looked away, uncertain. "So …I have to go to the Councilor Takao's home in about an hour for a formal call. You'll escort me?"

Ino nodded, still quiet.

Gaara got up and put the book down on his desk. He lifted one hand to trace the stem of one lily and then looked over at Ino. "I don't celebrate my birthday. Ever."

"I'm sorry." She choked out with a faint blush, embarrassed at the gaffe.

"But if I did …" He said slowly with a softer look in his usually hard eyes. "If I did, I'd tell you I liked these."

Ino watched him walk away as a slow smile spread over her face, a smile that matched the warmth rising up within her. His reaction was completely different than she'd imagined.

He was completely different than she'd imagined.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? I know, I know ...Naruto still doesn't know about being 'undateable'. I moved that back out of this chapter, too much going on. But he'll find out soon, I promise!**

**As always, reviews are appreciated and opinions matter! THANKS!**


	10. Byakugan vs Sharingan

**If anyone objects to the portrayal of Sasuke in this, I'm sorry. This is conjecture based on my needs for this fiction alone. Flame if you must, but remember. It's fanfiction and I DON'T OWN NARUTO! Thank you.**

o.o.o.o.o

Sai yawned and headed back toward his apartment after some early morning training. He stopped to grab a quick bite to eat, as there was little to no food at his place.

It wasn't that he was slow to catch on to the stares he was getting. But he'd grown used to a bit of notoriety in the village. That couldn't be helped when on the same team as Naruto. The blond didn't know the meaning of the word 'subtle'. Still, it took him a moment to realize that these weren't the stares he was more accustomed to getting. And …that there were more of them.

o.o.o.o.o

"Again, and I understand I'm repeating myself, but how does this benefit me?" Hiashi intoned lightly, watching his guest quite closely.

Sasuke didn't fidget under the clan leader's gaze and if he was nervous at all, it didn't show. Outwardly. But the Hyuuga was a master at reading small changes in chakra flow and body temperature. Uchiha Sasuke was not as sanguine as he tried to appear.

"An alliance between Uchiha and Hyuuga, as I've explained …"

"You've explained, _what_ exactly?" Hiashi interrupted, wanting to see how Sasuke would react. "I see only the benefits to you."

"My clan ..." Sasuke started again.

"What clan?" Hiashi said quietly.

His gaze narrowing, Sasuke held his temper in check. "Exactly my point. I'm the last of the Uchiha, they die out with me."

"Unless you father children." Hiashi pointed out. "But what doesn't make sense to me is your willingness, no your demand, to take your wife's name. Wouldn't that end the Uchiha line forever?"

"Yes." Sasuke took a deep calming breath. "I know that when I was younger my pledge was to revitalize and rebuild the Uchiha clan. That is no longer my aim."

"And the Sharingan?"

"Dies with me."

Hiashi sat back, thinking things over carefully. Sasuke sat back as well, waiting for an answer.

Finally the clan leader cleared his throat. "You want to marry Hinata and become, in effect, Hyuuga Sasuke?"

"Exactly." The younger man nodded coldly. "It's not like she's your heir, not anymore."

Hiashi conceded the point with one raised eyebrow. "But you don't want me to seal her abilities prior to marriage?"

"The Sharingan and the Byakugan are both dominant traits. It is my hope that any children born of this marriage would carry on the Hyuuga bloodline limits. With the research I have gathered, the Byakugan is strong enough to overcome the Uchiha blood gifts."

"Research gleaned from Orochimaru." Hiashi stated coldly. "That does not carry well with me."

"Perhaps not." Sasuke allowed. "Still. It is truth. The Sharingan is not present or available at birth, and one has to grow into it. Train and work at it to activate the Uchiha abilities. Many traits can only be unlocked at great personal costs." He did not mention the blood sacrifices necessary, the Hyuuga didn't need to know that.

"Not so the Byakugan." Hiashi nodded, following the logic.

Sasuke gave a small nod. "Precisely. The Sharingan is a more powerful weapon, but the Byakugan is the stronger trait in genetics."

"So say you." Hiashi felt unwilling to concede that point. "But the truth is, there has never been a marriage between our clans for this very reason."

The Uchiha nodded. "No one from my clan would have willingly allowed their children not to inherit the Sharingan."

"Perhaps. But the truth is, no Hyuuga ever offered for an Uchiha." Hiashi paused and met Sasuke's eyes head on. "Not with the Uchiha madness that could be passed along just as easily, if not more easily, than a bloodline limit."

Sasuke stiffened in his seat, for the first time his anger truly pricked. "Madness?"

Hiashi sighed and sat back once more. "Your brother for one. The Madras for two. But you know as well as I do that the Hyuuga is an old family name. What you may not know is that we are also good record keepers. Did you think the madness started so recently? No. Uchihas are powerful, but they also run the risk …"

"Of madness."

"Hai." The Hyuuga clan leader steepled his fingers. "So explain to me why I should take a chance of bringing you into my family?"

"After me, there will be no more Uchiha. You get me. I will fight for you and beside you until my death. My children will be Hyuuga."

"You hope." Hiashi sighed deeply. "No one can see the future. Not even with one of the stolen jutsu of Orochimaru. No Sasuke, you don't know that you will be the last Uchiha unless you die or never have children. So my question becomes, why take the chance? Why get married at all?"

Sasuke looked out the window, gathering his thoughts. "What you say is true. But when it comes down to it, I want a family. I want what I thought I had so long ago. With my brother's demise, I …felt relief like you've never known before. But also lonely. I thought I was a loner before, but with Itachi's passing, I realize that I always knew there was someone else out there."

"And that feeling is gone." Hiashi nodded encouragingly. "But if your goal is to end the Uchiha line, you can still marry and not father children."

"What clan would want that?" Sasuke smiled ruthlessly. "No. All I have to offer is myself as a shinobi, a large amount of money and land, and the willingness to cease the Uchiha line."

Hiashi looked pointedly at Sasuke and held up three fingers. "The money and land are inherited from Orochimaru as your family lands were confiscated when you betrayed the village. Those are not good selling points here in Konoha, particularly with me."

Sasuke frowned, but nodded.

"You are a powerful shinobi, yes I will admit that. But can you be trusted?"

"I would give my oath."

Hiashi frowned and shook his head. "You did that once before, to Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage. Yes?"

Sasuke waited a moment, but when it became apparent that Hiashi would not continue without a reply, he gave a sharp nod. "Yes."

"The oath you betrayed?"

"Yes." He said a bit louder. "But this time …"

"No. An oath-breaker has no standing on taking another oath."

"My reasons …"

"Are disregarded." Hiashi said coldly, narrowing his pale-eyed gaze on the younger ninja. "Honor is not a gray area. You either follow the ways or you don't. Revenge is powerful, but in order to achieve it you sought power and knowledge from a sworn enemy of this village. A man who killed the Sandaime."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, but kept his mouth shut.

"But all that aside, I am not completely inclined to dismiss you out of hand." Hiashi said slowly.

Sasuke calmed down as he started to listen.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji knocked on Lee's door over an hour before they were supposed to meet up with Gai-sensei for training. He wasn't surprised when no one answered. Lee was probably out training already.

"Are you looking for Lee?" And older neighbor asked, outside as she swept the area in front of her apartment.

The Hyuuga nodded absently. "Knowing Lee he's probably already out running laps around Konoha."

The older woman cackled with delight. "Oh, he's already back from that. But now I think you'll find him out with that nice girl."

Neji nodded and continued on his way. Now, what was TenTen discussing with Lee? Him maybe? He sighed and headed out toward Lee's favorite breakfast spot. About three doors away, he stopped cold as he saw one of the objects of his thoughts.

TenTen was laughing up into the face of someone, and that someone wasn't Lee! Neji scowled as he recognized the bared face of the Sand puppeteer. His scowl deepened as he saw the man reach up and twirl one of the ribbons loose from her buns. He grunted and nodded as she slapped Kankuro's hand away. Good girl.

"Why is he holding a log?" The voice asked from beside him.

Neji shook his head. "Don't know."

Sai cocked his head to one side as they watched the Sand puppet user put down the log. "Why is he holding your girlfriend?"

"Not my girlfriend." Neji ground out from between his clenched teeth. "You should know that already since that was your portrait of me in the 'undateable' BINGO book."

Sai nodded and continued to watch. "You never held her like that."

The Hyuuga actually growled and clenched his fists. "I did, but NOT in public."

"Oh." Sai nodded as he looked at the oblivious couple. "Did you kiss her like that?"

Receiving no answer, he turned to look at the red faced Hyuuga. "Guess not." Sai commented, then peeked back at the twosome. "Did she kiss you like that?"

Still with no answer, he turned and watched the back of Neji as he disappeared down the street. "Guess that's a 'no' too." The former ROOT member watched the two finish their kiss, pick up the log, and head into one of the many cafés.

He sighed and looked behind him, seeing three pairs of eyes disappear behind a store's display. Two pairs of eyes, belonging to a blond and a red-head didn't disappear, but smiled and waved over at him. Sai turned around feeling distinctly uneasy.

Suddenly, one girl was on one side of him and the other flanked the other side. "Good morning, Sai." The first girl purred.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen smiled as Kankuro ushered her into the booth. Then looked at him in surprise as he took the seat next to her, rather than across from her. "Don't you think there's more room over there?"

He shook his head, crowding her a bit as he put his arm around her shoulder. "That seat's for the log."

TenTen could feel the heat of her face blushing as his thumb caressed the ball of her shoulder even through her winter clothing. With a small shock she realized he was activating his chakra to 'touch' her, making sure she could feel his touch even through the heavier fabrics.

"You know he saw us, don't you?" Kankuro said with a small sneer.

"Who?"

"The Hyuuga." The puppeteer laughed at the look on her face. "I can read chakra signatures as well as you can."

"Is that a challenge?" She narrowed her gaze on his.

"No." Kankuro laughed and then smiled warmly at the waitress. After the two had ordered breakfast, he turned back to her. "No challenge. But what I want to know is …did you kiss me back just because he was watching?"

TenTen blushed more as she remembered the sizzling kiss just outside the café. Then she stiffened in sudden anger, and some hurt. "Did you kiss ME because you knew he was watching?"

Kankuro leaned down to nip at her bottom lip, laughing as her hand came up to rub the sting away. "I kissed you because I wanted to, have wanted to, always seem to want to. But the fact that he was watching? Just making sure he knows that you're with someone else now." He grinned and leaned down toward her again, she pulled back as he snapped at her playfully. "I don't need an audience. Just you."

"Oh." Was all she could manage for the moment. TenTen was in a state of confusion. Neji she could handle. He was a gentleman. He would NEVER have kissed her so blatantly in public like that. This man was another story. He didn't seem ...quite tame. But instead of running away, TenTen felt drawn to him.

"So." He mused, running the finger of his free hand down her cheekbone. "Did you kiss me back because of him? Or because of me?"

Good question. TenTen bit her bottom lip, drawing a growl of approval from the Sand shinobi. At first, her instinct had been to stop the kiss. They'd been in public for heaven's sake! Then she realized Neji was close by and had stepped into the kiss so he could see her enjoying the company of someone else.

But that had changed. Kankuro had taken possession of her lips and slipped past her defenses even before she knew she needed defending! He'd pulled her in tight to his body and wrapped her in a sea of heat and dizzy need. The open mouthed kiss wasn't that surprising, but her reaction to it certainly was. Neji had never caused her knees to quiver. Neji had never made her forget where she was. Neji had never made her cling like that.

Kankuro laughed as he watched the answer in her eyes. "Good." He said, dipping his head down toward her, then smiling happily as she lifted up toward him.

The waitress smiled and shook her head as she delivered their tea, but didn't interrupt the oblivious couple.

o.o.o.o.o

"Greetings this fine morning, my eternal rival!" Gai greeted Kakashi in his usual ebullient manner, clapping him so hard on the back it was a struggle to stay seated upright.

"Gai." Kakashi protested, wriggling one finger in his ear to stop the ringing.

"Lee and I have already run laps this morning around the hospital 500 times! What have you been doing with your team?" Gai sat down next to Kakashi who only sighed.

Kurenai shook her head and ignored them both.

"When will you begin training the youngest Sarutobi?" Gai's smile gleamed as he watched Kurenai's red eyes widen.

"He's barely potty-trained." The genjutsu user protested. "Don't you go sinking your training regimen on my son just yet, Maito."

"It's never too early!" Gai shook his head, his good humor not even dented.

"So. Only 500 laps around the hospital?" Kakashi murmured, looking to re-direct the linear thought processes of the Green Beast. "Not Konoha itself?"

Gai shrugged. "Lee's idea, he challenged me."

Kurenai smiled knowingly. "He was probably hoping that Sakura would look outside and see him."

Kakashi nodded absently, returning to his book.

Gai's smile dimmed slightly. "Actually, I think he was wanting to see if the Inuzuka was waiting around the hospital. Lee's heard some disturbing rumors."

"Rumors that say my student is dating Kakashi's student?" Kurenai smiled. "They're not rumors. All my students are dating now. And it's about time too."

"Ah Youth!" Gai opined loudly. "The blood boils and hopes rise."

"That's not all that rises." Kakashi muttered, turning the page in his book.

Oblivious, Gai continued unabated. "The bloom of life opens and all the world is full of possibilities." He breathed deeply.

"You don't seem too upset about Kiba and Sakura dating." Kurenai said mildly.

Gai shrugged. "Lee needs to branch out, see that there is more than one blossom on the tree of life!"

Kurenai rolled her eyes as Kakashi snickered.

"Don't laugh!" Gai pointed at Kakashi, his finger less than an inch from the copy-nin's face. "You have two students on this kunoichi BINGO book that Genma showed me. I only have the one. Ah poor Neji, never thought he'd fall so low. Still, in this contest, I win."

"It's not a contest." Kakashi sighed. "And Naruto is only on probation. It's one to one and a half, not two."

Kurenai stood and pushed away from the table. "Actually, I believe that Asuma's team tied yours, Gai. Only one is undateable. Still, in this instance, I clearly am the winner. None of my students were on the undateable list, and now all three are dating quite happily. I have high hopes for them all."

Kakashi and Gai both goggled at the pretty genjutsu specialist. Gai's face fell even as Kakashi started laughing.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata paused, checking the time. She smiled, happy that she only had half an hour before meeting up with Chouji. She sighed and cast her eye back on the leather goods in front of her.

She was torn. What to buy Chouji? Hinata knew that technically she didn't _need_ to get him a gift for the Winter Festival, since she HAD actually asked him. But she wanted too, so here she was. Hinata smiled as she saw a wallet dyed the same dark color as Chouji's eyes. Plain, soft and supple. Yet, the stitching looked highly intricate. She reached for it, just as she shivered with a small sense of unease.

Looking up, she glanced around, but couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. The market place was crowded, but that wasn't unusual. Activating her Byakugan seemed silly, but instinct was the way of the ninja. Hinata continued to look around, but still sensed nothing wrong, even with the Byakugan. There were several chakra signatures she was familiar with, but nothing …oh, what was _he_ doing there? Hinata shrugged and turned away.

She wondered if his presence meant the council had accepted him back into Konoha. Then as the store owner hurried over to haggle with her, she lost interest in the presence of one Uchiha Sasuke.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji approached the training area where he was to meet up with his teammates in a dark funk. The sound of giggling didn't register at first. But when he came in sight of the meeting place, he drew to a sudden stop.

Pale eyes widened as he saw Lee doing push-ups. Nothing unusual there. But the girl sitting on Lee's back as he did the push-ups certainly was.

"My turn next! My turn next!"

Neji looked on in utter shock as three other girls clapped and watched, all "oohs" and "ahhs" as Lee continued on unabated and bragging he could do the push-ups with ALL the girls on his back.

"Lee?" Neji approached, not sure what to make of everything.

The girls, two genin and two chuunin sniffed when they saw him. One even turned her nose in the air as if she smelled something rotten. Two others gave him the once over, then shook their heads sorrowfully.

"Looks like you're out of luck."

Neji stiffened and turned, it took him a second, but he finally recognized Gaara's former student. "Good morning."

"Matsuri." She nodded, giving him her name.

"I remembered." Neji said truthfully.

"Just making sure." She said casually. "Your portrait did come with a warning of forgetfulness."

"Don't tell me you're following that thing?" Neji grunted.

"Hardly." Matsuri laughed. "I don't care what the Leaf Kunoichi say about someone, I always make up my own mind. Though there are some whose opinions I do take into account."

"I'm not interested." Neji said, sighing deeply.

Matsuri laughed. "Good thing, since I'm not here for you." She nodded over toward Lee. "Those giggly things won't hold his interest. And he and I are going to grab something to eat in a few minutes."

"Lee?" Neji's eyes goggled. "But …but …why?"

Matsuri eyed him as if he were stupid. "Why not? What's wrong with him?"

Neji stopped and looked back at his teammate. "Honestly? Nothing. He's a good guy. But girls don't usually notice him much. I suppose the whole 'undateable' thing has changed all that." He said, trying not to sound bitter as his memory flashed him an image of TenTen and Kankuro. Kissing. Kissing deeply.

The Sand kunoichi shrugged. "I promise you I'm looking at him irregardless of any book. Gaara speaks highly of him, that's a good recommendation as far as I'm concerned. And right now I happen to be free, and so is he. So? What's the problem?"

"Nothing." Neji admitted, settling down as he read the honesty in her expression. He glanced over at the giggling fangirls and sighed. "You're different from them, aren't you?"

Matsuri smiled and nodded. "Oh, I do tend to get …involved, I'll admit. But I don't give my affections easily or to just anyone. Nor do I base things on the superficial." She said, running her eyes up and down the handsome Hyuuga.

"There's more to me than what you see." Neji growled.

"If you say so, if you say so." Matsuri grinned as Lee came bounding over to them. "You didn't even break a sweat!"

Lee shook his head. "With that small workout? No! But Gai-sensei and I went for a run this morning and I've built up quite an appetite. Are you ready to go?"

Matsuri nodded just as Neji stepped in front of his teammate. "But I thought we were going to train this morning?"

Lee shook his head. "We're training this afternoon because Gai-sensai has a meeting with the Hokage this morning. We have training tomorrow morning though. Though if you want, I'm sure that Matsuri wouldn't mind if I trained with you. Maybe she could join us!"

Neji shook his head 'no' even as the fangirls chimed up.

"I will!"

"No me!"

"I can do it!"

"You can not, but I can!"

The four girls giggled and cooed behind him. Lee turned with a smile. "I'd be glad to train with you girls, but I promised breakfast to Matsuri-chan and a shinobi should never break a promise!"

Neji grinned as he watched Lee escort the Sand kunoichi back toward the village, the gaggle of giggling fangirls trailing behind them. He wished he could see their faces as they realized Lee was more than a little serious when it came to 'training'.

One 'training' session, and the fangirls would disappear. Neji shook his head, laughing.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke watched Hinata as the girl shopped.

So what if her father said 'no'? Hiashi had given Sasuke permission to court any member of the Branch Family that would have him. But he'd said Hinata was off limits. The man had stated that his eldest daughter was currently involved with someone else.

Sasuke watched her, snorting. She'd grown up well. Still, that wasn't the reason he wanted her above any other Hyuuga. He knew Hanabi, as heir, was off limits. But Hinata wasn't, no matter what her father thought. And she was the direct child of the current Hyuuga clan leader. Therefore her Byakugan was the purest, and hopefully the strongest genetically speaking.

If he had any real hope of his children being Hyuuga rather than Uchiha, it most likely rested with this girl.

Boyfriend or not. If Sasuke managed to seduce her, Hiashi would have to change his mind and say yes.

o.o.o.o.o

"What did you say?" Naruto asked the genin kunoichi standing in front of him

The girl twisted her finger in one long curl of her dark hair and peeked up at him through her eyelashes. "You'll be off probation soon. I just wanted to know if you would like some private tutoring on how to _stay_ off the list?"

"What list?" Naruto asked, confused.

The girl's eyes widened, then she grinned as she handed him a portrait book. It wasn't very large. Naruto flipped through the book quickly, his mind going numb with shock at what he was seeing.

Finally, he got to his own picture and his shout rattled several of the surrounding windows.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura answered the knock on the door, bleary eyed and with a piece of toast in her mouth. It had been a late shift at the hospital, and she had an early one today. Ah, the price of rearranging her schedule so she could go out with Kiba tonight!

Blinking. She stared at Sai's blank expression. "Is something the matter?"

Sai didn't say anything, he just handed her a new picture.

Startled, Sakura took it and looked down. "This is a self portrait."

"Yes."

Sakura shook her head, not understanding. She looked up at her teammate. "You haven't done anything to be listed as 'undateable'."

Sai took back the picture and quickly scrawled something underneath. He handed it back to her wordlessly.

"Undateable, for …_personal reasons_?" Sakura shook her head looking lost.

Sai let out a sigh and took the portrait back, writing something else. He handed it back to her, again not saying anything.

"_Not ready_?" Sakura just blinked up at him. "What does _not ready_ mean?"

Sai turned and pointed down the street. "Make them go away."

Sakura looked down the street and was startled to see a group of girls all watching them. "Nine of them?"

"Nine?" Sai turned and counted. "They're growing, it started with five. They're multiplying."

"SAKURA!"

The deep bellow startled them all. Sakura dropped her toast as Naruto came bounding around the corner toward her, evil things lurking in his usually clear eyes.

"Just put that in the book." Sai pointed at the picture and took off. Sakura watched in amazement as the girls screeched and followed after him, only a few beats behind the former ROOT shinobi.

"SAKURA!"

The pink haired girl groaned as Naruto skidded to a halt in front of her, the kunoichi BINGO book clenched in his hands.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you liked it! REVIEWS are always welcome! I hope no one flames me for the portrayal of Sasuke. This is just one take on him if he should ever return to Konoha. No it's not canon. But then, in the manga he has not returned to the village. His feelings on the Sharingan are for this fic only!**

**Thank you, and I really hope you enjoyed!**


	11. Learning Curve

"What the hell is THIS!" Naruto yelled, shoving the kunoichi BINGO book at his female teammate.

Sakura frowned and bent to pick up the toast she'd dropped. She stepped outside her door and crumbled up what had been part of her breakfast, she ignored Naruto as she spread the crumbs out for the birds.

"SAKURA!" Naruto yelled at her while whining, something only he seemed capable of. He was a master at it, she decided absently.

"It's a book." She looked at him pointedly. "You're just now seeing that? It's been out a while now."

The blond shinobi sputtered and flipped open the book. "It has my picture!" He pointed out, as if she couldn't see that.

Sakura didn't even glance at the portrait, keeping her gaze on her teammate's bright blue eyes instead. "Yes, yes it does. I think it's a pretty good likeness of you. Sai really is quite good."

"Earlier, when you hit me, back in the marketplace …you said something about me being _on probation_." Naruto's voice fell from screeching to merely being very, very loud. "_This_ is what you meant, is that right?"

Sakura nodded, quoting the kunoichi BINGO book from memory. "On probation. Undateable for three months for the crimes of being unobservant, unintentionally rude, and being romantically ignorant."

The blond managed to settle down a bit as he stared at his picture. Finally, he looked back up at her, looking hopeful. "Does that mean in three months you'll date me?"

The pink-haired kunoichi her head back and took a deep breath. "No, it doesn't. Naruto, I'm seeing someone else now."

Naruto scratched his head, looking puzzled. "For three months. I got that. But ...then you're free after that. Right?"

Sakura shrugged. "Unless we want to keep seeing each other after that time, then we will continue dating each other. But you'll be off probation then and can start dating free and clear. Hey, listen, this has gotten you some great free publicity. Haven't you noticed all the stares you've been getting lately? The girls are noticing you."

He shrugged and shook his head. "Nah. Sakura, I always get stared at, that's nothing new."

The kunoichi stumbled and struck her bare toe sharply on a rock as she sucked in a breath. With wide eyes she looked at her blond teammate. REALLY looked at him as she ignored the pain in her foot. He was right. People in Konoha had always stared at him. And she even knew why now. The nine-tailed fox demon. Though, that still was not common knowledge even within their own Academy graduating class. Suddenly she felt very petty and small.

"Naruto." Sakura started, unsure what to say. Her voice softened with concern. "I'm sorry."

But the blond wasn't really paying her apology much mind. He was thinking about other things. "On probation. Okay, I get that ...I guess, though I'm not _really_ sure why." Naruto paused and pointed at the other words that accompanied his portrait. "Sakura? When was I rude to you? Or romantically ignorant?"

Sakura gave him an embarrassed smile. "Not to me, Naruto."

"And I'm NOT ignorant nor am I unobservant!" He continued, not hearing her response as his temper flared a bit. Blue eyes seemed to catch on fire from deep within. "I'm a ninja! The future Hokage of this village! How could you do this to me?"

The kunoichi sighed deeply, not sure how to say this without being too mean or confrontational. "Naruto? What if there was a shinobi our age now, okay? But back when he was at the Academy there was a girl who had a HUGE crush on him? And she kept that crush for years and years? Now imagine, this girl stuttered around him, blushed, hung on his every word and supported him through his every fight, cheering him on always. She even fainted a time or two whenever he paid attention to her for even the smallest things. Now, what if this shinobi NEVER noticed her or her feelings for him? Not even once did he consider that this girl might have feelings for him? Can you imagine how she felt? How that would be rude and unobservant?"

Naruto shrugged and grinned at her like she was nuts. "Bad example. That would never happen."

Sakura raised her fist, fire lighting her own eyes. "If I didn't care for you so much I'd flatten you!"

"Oh! Now what did I do?" Naruto asked, backing away from his angry teammate. His crazily _strong_ angry teammate. "It's not like anything like that ever happened …to …to …me?" His eyes widened in shock as he seemed to catch on at long last.

Sakura settled down, mollified as she brushed off her hands. "Now. The light _finally_ dawns."

"Sakura? You fainted over me?" He asked incredulously.

It took a few minutes before Naruto regained consciousness.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji trudged back to the training grounds his mind plotting and scheming as he tried to quash the visual of TenTen in Kankuro's arms. He needed a mission. That's what he needed. A mission would fix everything. He, TenTen, Lee and maybe even Gai, depending on the mission rank, all alone on a ninja mission. Focused. Together. Like always. No Sand shinobi. No kunoichi BINGO book. And then things would finally return to normal.

"Ah! My young student! Have you noticed the fine crispness in the air? Perhaps it will snow for the Winter Festival this year. Would that not be grand?!"

"Gai." Neji greeted his former sensei with a brief nod. He looked around, then frowned. "Is everyone else late? That's not like Lee or TenTen."

"No, no!" Gai beamed at him, his teeth almost blindingly white in the early afternoon. "No, I sent them word to take the afternoon off. Tomorrow will be soon enough to train."

"BYAKUGAN!" Neji activated his bloodline limit quickly and fell into a defensive stance, ready for anything the imposter had to show him.

Gai took an appropriately offensive stance to match his former student. "What great dedication you have!" He cried, blinking back tears of joy. "The need and desire to constantly train and better oneself is the sentinel of a fine shinobi in the peak of his youth!"

"So." Neji stood back up, chagrined as he deactivated his family jutsu. "It is you, after all. Gai-sensei."

The older jounin blinked again, looking a bit confused but happy. "You are so vigilant! I applaud your dedication, Neji. Though, I have not seen you check the identities of everyone you meet during the day, so I must ask, why now?"

"You put off training." Neji shrugged. "That's not like the Gai-sensei I know."

"AH!" Gai nodded enthusiastically, his eyes shining brightly once more. "That would be correct, if such is what I actually meant young Neji! No, I merely stated that I gave TenTen and Lee the afternoon free. For they are in the springtime of their youth and are following the blooming needs of their lives."

Neji tried to follow that line of thought, but got bogged down somewhere near 'springtime'. "What?"

"They're dating! A fine and noble pursuit to spread one's youthful wings and fertilize the fields of life." Gai threw open his arms in a wide gesture that made Neji cringe.

"Don't remind me. I don't like to think of TenTen fertilizing _anything _right now!" The Hyuuga youth moaned.

Gai's over-large eyebrows knitted together as he narrowed his eyes on his former student. "And that is the point. You need _specialized_ training. How could you allow yourself to be placed in this kunoichi BINGO book? For shame to sink so low! Lee is not there. Neither are either of Kurenai's students." He said sadly, shaking his head.

The Hyuuga groaned and rolled his eyes. "I am not going to let you train me in 'youthful pursuits' to 'fertilize' anything just to beat Kurenai or Kakashi for you. This is my life, not some random challenge for you all." With that, he turned to leave, disgusted with the whole thing.

Gai waited until Neji was half-way back to the path before calling out almost soflty. "I never took you for a coward." He stated simply.

Neji spun and glared murderously over at Gai.

"Do you want TenTen to move to Suna?" The older shinobi called out next, watching the Hyuuga closely.

"She'd never do that!" Neji's hands trembled a bit at the thought.

Gai shrugged. "Then why did the Hokage ask me about a request by one of my students to train the young of the Suna Academy in the ways of the fine and youthful arts of weaponry?"

Pale-lilac eyes went wide and cold. Breathing suddenly hurt as Neji struggled to assimilate what he'd just heard.

Gai nodded gravely. "And I don't think Tsunade-sama was talking about Lee."

"You could stop her." Neji whispered almost to himself, though unsurprised that Gai still heard his words.

"But I won't." The older man smiled sadly at him. "If this is where her heart leads, I will let her go with joy beating within my own heart. It is the way of youth, and love."

Neji shook his head. "Then why are we here? Why are you offering me 'specialized' training if you want her to go?"

Gai laughed and shook his head. "I can't and won't stop her. That doesn't mean I want her to go though. But if you were to _happen_ to recapture her heart, that's another story entirely. And even if you don't, we need to get you off that infernal list so that you can find your own lady love! Then you can let TenTen go without breaking your own youthful heart."

The Hyuuga groaned at Gai's usual theatrics, but still …he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"First! What is the nature of love?" Gai beamed as the training in 'youthful pursuits' began in earnest. "Come now, this is serious! Tell me the nature of love itself!"

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara didn't peek over at Ino as they walked back toward his guest apartments. Instread he looked at her openly.

The blond caught his look and returned it, for the life of her not knowing what to say. For the first time in her life, her usual flirty ways just weren't working right. Not with this guy. She couldn't bring herself to openly flirt with Gaara of the Sand. Instead she gave him an awkward smile. "That was a nice breakfast."

Gaara grunted but nodded slightly. "The constant bickering of politicians gives me a headache every time. Although something seems to have spared me that today at least."

Ino smiled a bit over-brightly. "But the food was delicious."

The Kazekage nodded, then paused as he thought about it. She was right. The rolled omelets had been perfect and the rice balls had been quite well made. "I liked the grilled eel." He mentioned.

"Me too." Ino grinned, trying to force herself to relax.

"You didn't eat much though." Gaara commented absently as they neared his apartment. "I usually don't get to eat at these things, the food is always cold or congealed before they let me stop talking policies and the such."

"Not today." She told him, then gave him a long look. "Maybe that's why you didn't get a headache this time."

Gaara thought that over, then shrugged. "Maybe." He allowed. Though, it was probably a good guess he decided. But in thinking about it he realized that the only reason he'd been able to eat today was that he'd had Ino with him. The blond had handled the bulk of all social niceties and even had deflected some stupid or inane questions. Yet, she'd never stepped on his political toes when he needed to answer something specific, or wanted to hear someone else speak.

"Daffodil." He said from out of nowhere, making Ino blink then shake her head at him in wonder.

She simply didn't know what to make of this. Gaara had been asking questions about all diferent kinds of flowers and their meanings ever since he'd received those lilies. "Respect." She told him. "Daffodils mean respect."

"Heather." Gaara asked next, searching his brain for more flower names. It's not like he knew much about them, being from the desert and all. He didn't tell her he'd been going through that book just to see if he could stump her. The idea of having _fun_ was foreign to him.

"White or lavender?" Ino responded, shaking her head. "Aren't you tired of this yet?"

"No." Gaara said baldly. "How about lavender heather?"

"Admiration, solitude." She told him and sighed. "And before you ask, the white means either protection or wishes come true."

The red-head nodded and stopped in front of his building, staring over at her.

Ino stared back, slowly growing self-conscious. "What? Do I have some food stuck between my teeth or something?"

"No. You didn't eat enough for that to happen." He answered simply as he tried to figure her out. Chatty people annoyed him. She didn't. But she _was_ chatty. It made no sense. "Do you have a background in politics?"

Surprised by the question, Ino blinked then smiled a bit shyly at him. "No. So if I made any mistakes today I must apologize. This really isn't my area."

Gaara grunted. "No mistakes. Though I'm not sure you're correct. Mind jutsu specialties? Politics? They're not _that _different."

Ino cracked a smile, then bit her lip, then smiled again. "Was that a joke?" She asked.

Unsure, Gaara turned from her and headed toward his door. Had it been a joke? That wasn't like him.

"Uhm, Gaara-sama?"

"Gaara." He corrected automatically, for like the thousandth time.

"Do you have any more appointments today?" Ino asked, unsure of herself. He hadn't dismissed her, but she didn't think he had any more use for an escort today. When she'd looked earlier, his afternoon had been clear.

Gaara grunted. "Maybe."

"Oh." Ino shrugged, a bit disappointed. She'd thought maybe he hadn't told her to leave because he _liked_ having her around. Silly assumptions. Still, she shouldn't feel so …hollow, should she? Disappointed? That wasn't right. She hated the feeling of not knowing where she stood. Walking on eggshells wasn't very comfortable.

She watched as he reached for his door, and she shifted, suddenly realizing she hadn't scanned ahead. "Wait. Chakra signatures."

Gaara shook his head and walked into the apartment. "It's just Kankuro. Relax, the fangirls are still acting subdued." He actually flashed her a small smile. "Their stitches itch and bother them, at least that's what they told my guards. They're keeping their distance from me. I shouldn't be so happy about that, should I?"

Ino gave him an answering smirk. "Probably not. But I'll keep your secret …OH! Oh good heavens!"

Gaara stopped and stared, completely stunned. He and Ino stood in the hallway entrance both stiff as boards in their awkwardness. He deliberately didn't look at the blond at his side, lest she think he was suggesting they follow his brother's example.

"Ahem." Ino coughed, trying to get the duo's attention.

They waited, but the two didn't seem to notice them. Actually Gaara wasn't sure they were even coming up for air.

"TenTen?" Ino tried again, louder. Still to no avail though. Long minutes passed, she looked behind her toward the door. Should she make a break for the exit?

"Don't. You. Dare." Gaara intoned darkly, noticing her interest in leaving. "You're my escort, and you're supposed to protect me."

Ino barked out a small chuckle. "They're not attacking _you_. More like each other."

"Don't get picky about it." Gaara said, walking into the room and dropping off his bag of scrolls on his desk, then unbuckling his sand gourd from his back.

"Sorry." TenTen blushed, flustered as she pulled away from Kankuro, who was scowling at both his brother and Ino.

The blond walked into the main room, giving the couple on the futon a wide berth. "So?" She looked at Gaara. "What do you want me to do to them? Throw water on them? It works with the feral cats in my grandmother's neighborhood."

"Hey!" Kankuro protested, though whether to Ino's suggestion or to TenTen's walking away, Gaara wasn't quite sure.

The Kazekage of Suna eyed his brother and the Leaf kunoichi. "At least they're still dressed." The red-head commented while sinking down into his chair, closing his eyes.

TenTen went beet red and mumbled something about being needed at home. Kankuro whined as she headed for the door. "Wait up!" He ran after her, not bothering to do more than sneer briefly at his brother.

Ino scowled after the departed couple, then she looked over at Gaara who still had his eyes closed. TenTen was well on her way to having a great new relationship apparently. Chouji and Hinata were nearly inseparable. Sakura had never been happier and every time Ino saw Temari these days, the kunoichi was attached to the Aburame's side.

So where was _she_ going wrong? She was Yamanaka Ino. Not some blushing twit who sat at home while everyone else was out and about. So what was the problem?

Ino thought it through and decided that she wasn't being herself. _That_ was the problem. She'd been on her best behavior. Not overtly flirting, not nagging, and just in general not being Ino. Well. That was going to stop right now.

Gaara opened his eyes as he heard Ino move and then widened his gaze as she settled herself in his lap, wrapping her arms around him. He drew in a sharp breath, then felt a little dizzy as he was immediately lost within the heady aroma of her light perfume.

"Ino?" He choked as she drew her hand through his hair, making his insides quiver.

"Yes. It's me." Ino avowed firmly. "Really me."

"Oh." Was the best he could manage as her eyes drew closer to his. He had to blink to keep from going cross-eyed. Gaara thought maybe he should stand and be rid of her, but his legs weren't responding. Or maybe he should shove her away, but his hands settled around her of their own accord. Damn she felt good.

"Get rid of the sand armor." She whispered and licked her lips lightly.

Gaara nodded, but the sand didn't shift. "Why?" He asked hoarsely, needing to hear her reason.

"Because I want to kiss you and not the sand. I've never kissed sand before, but I'm sure it doesn't taste nearly as good as you will." She smirked suggestively. "I'd hate to get chapped lips for the wrong reason."

"What makes you think I'll let you kiss me?" Gaara asked, stalling and unsure.

Ino leaned down and purred in his ear, making him shiver as his arms tightened around her automatically. "You haven't thrown me out of your lap yet, it gives me ...hope."

Sand hissed away as she leaned in closer to him, her lips a hair's breadth away from his. Gaara drew back slightly, looking at her.

Ino blinked at him, her eyes wide pools that seemed to do strange things to his insides. "Do you want me to go?"

He shook his head silently. Gaara reached up slowly to push her long fall of bangs away from her face. "White heather."

Not sure if her advances were being rejected, Ino just looked at him. "You already asked that one. Protection."

"No. The other meaning." He said, pulling her closer to him. His lips brushed hers, drawing a groan from them both. "If I had any white heather, I'd give it to you now."

Ino couldn't put her finger on his meaning as his lips claimed hers right then and she lost the ability to think clearly. A moment passed and then they sort of sank into each other. Nothing hot or heavy, more an exploration of each other, a learning experience. They explored and tasted as they found out what each other liked.

Long moments later, Ino cuddled in Gaara's lap as they traded sweet little kisses and he lightly traced the sides of her face with his hands. She couldn't believe how comfortable she felt. All her early awkwardness seemed a distant memory at best.

"How long before your next appointment?" She asked playing with the collar of his shirt, hoping they had a while. A long while.

"I don't have one." Gaara said. "Afternoon is free."

Ino frowned slightly as she tried to recall what he'd told her earlier. "You said maybe."

"I lied." He admitted without a qualm. "I didn't want you to go."

Pleased, Ino brushed a kiss against the side of his neck. Gaara played with her hair a moment, marveling at the soft texture. Suddenly, what he'd said earlier came back to her. "White heather?"

Gaara nodded, pulling her in closer to him but didn't speak.

Ino smiled where he couldn't see her. Knowing he'd never say it aloud, but by telling her what flower he meant, he was making his feelings known. The other meaning for white heather? _Wishes will come true_. Ino sighed happily against him.

Gaara sat there holding her as he thought about his conversation with Kankuro about the kunoichi plans. Three months? He couldn't believe his luck having Ino pull his name out of a hat randomly. It was like a gift from heaven. But then, those kinds of gifts never lasted long.

Ino was gorgeous, vivacious, smart and everything a man could dream about. He knew he didn't have a chance in hell for keeping a girl like Ino interested in him.

Still, it would be nice to pretend to be wanted for as long as he was in Konoha.

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto wrung the water out of his forehead protector looking disgruntled. "You didn't have to dump the bucket of water on me." He complained.

Sakura shrugged as she walked toward the hospital for her shift. "You were out cold."

"Because you knocked me that way." He whined, the goose egg still on the back of his head. "Besides, I was already _awake_ when you got back with the bucket."

The pink-haired girl gave him an evil grin. "But why waste a perfectly good bucket of water?"

"So." Naruto said as he walked beside her. "Hinata?"

"Hinata." She said firmly.

The blonde sighed. "Are you sure you're not just making that up?" Though he had a feeling she wasn't. Ever since she'd told him, he'd been having memory after memory of times when Hinata had blushed or stuttered or had fainted. And she had always cheered him on and given some really good advice when he needed it. Still, it was hard to believe. "Hinata?"

"Yes. Hinata." Sakura sighed. "And I have to tell you, even though she's over you now? She still respects you, she said so."

"Are you sure she's over me?" Naruto asked with a cheesy grin. "I mean, you did say she'd had a crush on me for YEARS. Right?"

"Yes." Sakura said slowly. "But she really seemed ready to move on, just like me. I got over Sasuke. And she's really happy with the guy she's with now."

"Maybe I should ask her out, just to see?" The blond suggested, remembering how pretty Hinata had looked the other day.

The pink-haired woman sighed. "Three months dating probation, remember?"

"Oh yeah!" The blond cackled. "Forgot about that. Maybe I should ask about some pointers, to stay off the list and all that. Or, you could teach me!"

Sakura shook her head. "No time, Naruto. Between the hospital, training, missions, and dating Kiba …I've got no time."

"Kiba?" Naruto shook his head. "Never thought I'd see that happen."

"Me neither." Sakura couldn't stop her grin. "But I'm glad it did!"

"I'm not." Naruto sighed and gave her a sheepish grin. "Still, are you sure you can't give me some tips?"

Sakura stopped just across from the hospital entrance. "Look, you need advice. I'd say go to someone and ask for help, you're on the right track." She smiled at him and started toward the hospital. Then she stopped, twirling around to face him. "And don't ask for advice from Kakashi! You need GOOD advice!"

"Oh, okay." Naruto said, scratching his head reluctant to tell her that Kakashi had been his first thought.

"Go ask someone who knows about girls and dating, not just reading about it!" Sakura called out, waving as she went into the hospital.

Naruto shrugged, wondering who in the world to ask? Kakashi was out, and Jiraiya was gone. The familiar pang of loss hit him deeply, though he doubted that Sakura would consider the pervy-sage a good person to ask for advice. But the Toad Hermit had known a LOT about women. Naruto still missed the man.

He sighed and wandered into the market place. Naruto stared briefly as he saw Shino holding hands with Gaara's sister as they haggled with a shop owner over basic ninja travel supplies. Shaking his head in wonder he kept going. He was not about to ask for advice on dating in front of one of the kunoichi, that was for damn sure.

A step or two away he grinned as he caught sight of Sasuke, sitting alone drinking tea. Jounin guards surrounded him, but his one-time teammate was back. Naruto grinned. Perfect! It didn't matter to him that Sasuke was in the kunoichi BINGO book too, he was there for leaving Konoha, not because girls didn't like him after all!

For his purposes, Sasuke was the perfect source of information! Naruto grinned and headed toward his old friend.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Tell me how you like (or don't like) the way things are heading ... LOL**

**THANKS for all the reviews and suggestions. Ligerjager gave me the idea of the contest between the jounin sensei mentioned in the last chapter; and having Gai teach Neji about dating was also a reviewer suggestion by Cheese Maiden I believe! Thank you!**


	12. Perfection

**First****: I've received a few reviews stating they felt sorry for Naruto in this fic. I completely understand, just remember the story is NOT over yet. That's not a promise for a happily-ever-after ending for anyone, just a reminder that the journey isn't always an easy one.**

**Second****: I've received a few reviews stating that this fic is slanted toward the female point of view and is unfair to all the males. That the girls aren't perfect themselves. That's very true and a valid point. I support that. This story, from the very beginning, has been told from the female characters point of view. Therefore it is NOT going to be fair to the men. That's just the nature of things. I hope that I've shown that the men aren't monsters, or completely irredeemable. That was never my intention. At least three of the guys on the 'undateable' list are some of my favorite characters. So why this story? Because it's fun to me. As I hope it is for you. Thank you.**

**P.S.: I still don't own NARUTO**

o.o.o.o.o

"Oi! Sasuke!"

The Uchiha sighed into his tea as he recognized the voice of the guy fast approaching him. "Naruto." It was just a statement, a name and not a greeting.

"Hehe!" The blond rushed up, then rocked back on his heels with a huge grin. "I guess the council decided in your favor!"

"Yes." Sasuke nodded, deliberately being vauge. Then he looked up at his former teammate's apparent glee. "Does the thought of me returning make you that happy? After all I've put you through?"

Naruto pulled out a chair, straddling it backwards as he gave the Uchiha a measuring look. "Whattya mean? Of course I'm glad you're back, that you've seen the light finally. Did they make you apologize? Put you on restrictions? What?"

Sasuke sighed and shook his head. "It's not what you think, Naruto."

"You can fill me in later." Naruto grinned cheekily. "First, I have something important to ask you."

"No, first I have something to ask you." Came the response. Sasuke eyed his companion, he knew his voice made him sound bored and blasé though he did wonder what the 'important' thing was. Was Naruto going to ask him about Kakashi? Sakura? Or his status in Konoha? All things Sasuke wasn't ready to quite face yet. "Tell me about Hyuuga Hinata."

Blue eyes widen in appreciation as Naruto whistled. "Is it _you_ she's in love with now? Boy, you work fast. Hardly even back and you've got one of the prettiest girls in the village in the palm of your hand."

Sasuke just shook his head. "No. Not yet anyway, but I'm hoping to change that."

Naruto cocked his head to one side, his eyes showing his curiosity. "But …I heard Hinata was already seeing someone, and is really happy about it. In love maybe. So, if it's NOT you afterall, then you're out of luck there!"

"Maybe." Sasuke responded drolly, not willing to concede the point. Hyuuga Hinata was his best chance of starting a family free of the curse of the Uchiha. He hoped so, anyway.

The blond perked up. "As a matter of fact, this is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about! How perfect is that?"

Dark eyes narrowed on innocent blue ones. "You want to attract Hinata?"

"Nah!" Naruto said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head. "Seems I missed that boat entirely. Did you know she had a crush on me for a while?"

"Everyone knew that." The Uchiha sniffed in derision. "You were the only oblivious one."

Deflated, Naruto pouted a bit. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Why would I?" Sasuke retorted carefully. "If you weren't interested, it was better just to leave things alone."

"Oh." Naruto said, sinking down in his chair while resting his chin on his crossed arms.

Sasuke waited, but when the blond didn't continue, he sighed. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Oh!" Perking up, Naruto gave him a lopsided grin. "How do you attract women?"

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji approached the man lying on the rooftop, shaking his head. "It's cold up here." He commented.

Shikamaru didn't move, didn't even bother to open his eyes. "This is where the clouds are."

The Akimichi heir shook his head and sat down next to his long-time friend. "How can you appreciate the clouds when your eyes are shut?"

"I know they're there." Was all Shikamaru said in response.

"I guess." Chouji said, looking up at the clouds.

Long moments passed companionably before Shikamaru grunted and sat up, wrapping his arms around his bent knees. "This is not a 'we're just sitting here' kind of silence, this is a 'you've got something to tell me' kind of silence. So what gives?"

Chouji sighed, frowning in concern. "We have a mission. We're scheduled to head out at sunset."

"Ranking?"

"It's a 'B' ranking. We're guarding some big-wig friend of a noble. I think it's only a 'B' ranking to make the guy seem important. There's not been any threats made or anything." Chouji shrugged. There were quite a few missions like this where nobles or rich merchants hired protection they didn't actually need just for the prestige of hiring shinobi.

"Pays the bills." Shikamaru shrugged. "But that's not what's eating you."

Chouji nodded. "We're heading out with Kurenai on this one."

"Kurenai?" Shikamaru looked puzzled.

"I know you and Ino fell out." Chouji commented, looking away from his friend for a moment. "I …I need to know, did you request she not be part of our team anymore? I mean …I know the Hokage sometimes listens to you."

"No." Shikamaru shook his head slowly. "Chouji, I wouldn't do that. It's probably because Ino's already got an assignment. She's the Kazekage's escort while he's here in the village."

The larger ninja sighed and shook his head. "It never set right with me, you dating both of them like that."

"I know, you warned me." Nara nodded at his friend. "You're a nice guy, Chouji."

"So are you."

Shikamaru gave a wry chuckle. "I'd be nice if it didn't take too much effort. I'm too lazy to be the nice guy."

Chouji laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "True, true. You should have told Ino you were already seeing Temari."

The dark-haired ninja sighed and nodded. "At the time, I didn't know I was _seeing_ her. It just sort of happened. We just kinda …fell into it. And by that time Ino was already convinced we were a couple too. It was too much trouble to tell either of them, so I didn't."

"For such a smart guy, that was foolish." Chouji stated calmly, knowing he'd said as much before. "Think you can work with Ino on our team?"

Shikamaru snorted. "I can. Whether she can stand to work with me is the question."

"Temari seems to be really close with Shino right now." Chouji said, testing the waters.

"I heard."

Not getting anything from Shikamaru's bland response, the Akimichi tried again. "Ino seems to be interested in the Kazekage. Romantically, I mean."

"I heard that too." Came the dry response as Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "My mother keeps me apprised. She seems to think that if she can make me jealous I'll go and try and win one of the girls back."

Chouji's eyes widened. "And?"

"And my mother's doomed to disappointment." Shikamaru let go of his knees and rolled gracefully into a standing position. Chouji mirrored him, the bigger bulk not impeding his movements one iota.

"You don't want either of them back?" The Akimichi asked, just to be sure.

Shikamaru laughed as he stretched lazily. "I feel freer than I have in a long, long time. This 'undateable' list is the best thing that's happened to me. Life is peaceful and I like it this way. Sure, the thing in the restaurant was troublesome, but after getting over that, it's been nothing but great."

Chouji shook his head as he read the truth in his friend's voice and body language. Shikamaru was relaxed and happier than he'd been in a long while. "You're weird." He said, though not unkindly.

"You're hooked." Shikamaru frowned over at his friend and pointed a finger at his face. "The only thing wrong in my life right now is my mother throwing up _your_ new relationship in my face every chance she gets. She says she wants me to be more like you."

Chouji laughed and grinned even as he shook his head. "Well, I'm not breaking up with Hinata just to make your life easier. You'll have to learn to deal with it."

Shikamaru nudged Chouji with his shoulder as he passed him, on his way down off the rooftop. "You look happier than I've ever seen you."

"I am." The Akimichi said simply as he followed Shikamaru down to the street. "She's …perfect."

Shikamaru sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets. "No such thing." He commented, but before his friend's face could fall he added, "Though I'll admit she seems perfect for you."

Chouji's grin widened as he and Shikamaru went off to find the third ninja for their mission. The Nara snuck a look over at his friend. "Are your thoughts leaning in _dangerous_ directions?" He nodded sharply over at a jewelry shop, with a prominent display of engagement rings.

The Akimichi pursed his lips silently and shook his head.

"No?" Shikamaru was frankly surprised. From what he'd seen of Chouji lately, his large friend was as gone as a guy could get over a girl. And she seemed as equally enthralled.

Chouji's face broke into a wide grin. "I haven't even _thought_ of _buying_ a ring." He smirked, not mentioning the fact that his grandmother was already making noises about passing down a family heirloom to him. Her own engagement ring. What could he say? His family already seemed to adore Hinata almost as much as he did himself. And her father had made Chouji welcome in the Hyuuga household too.

He couldn't believe how well things were going. Life was near perfect.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke snorted, biting back his laughter. "You mean how would YOU attract a woman?"

Naruto narrowed his gaze at the amusement being had at his expense. He gave a sharp nod and bit his tongue. He needed to get off the 'undateable' list. Sasuke was his best hope. As far as he knew, no woman had ever NOT fallen for the dark-haired ninja. Sure, Sasuke was on the list too, but only because he'd left the village.

Sasuke sighed and thought about it, his facing falling a bit as he hit a sudden realization. "Actually, I don't know." He said before he could stop himself.

"Whattya mean you don't know?" Naruto slapped his hand on the table. "You have to know! You always had the girls chasing after you. Always. You just don't want to share!"

The Uchiha shrugged off the comment with a sneer. "No, I mean …I don't know how I attract them. It just happens naturally. Back in the Academy I had no interest in the fangirls, but the more I was rude to them the more determined they seemed to get."

"Oh." Naruto thought about it a long moment, then sighed. "No, that won't work for me. If I'm rude to them, they just hit me or ignore me."

"Sorry, it's all I've got." Sasuke frowned as he realized the truth of his words. He'd just assumed he'd show up and Hinata would fall at his feet, but suddenly he was no longer so sure. How did you go about seducing a woman? They always came to him, he'd never had to work to get one to be interested in him. Well, he wasn't about to let Naruto know he wasn't so sure of the answer himself. "You're on your own."

Naruto scowled, but nodded. His mind raced as he tried to come up with someone better to ask. Kakashi? But Sakura had nixed that. The thought of his pink-haired teammate made him frown. "You going to see Sakura?"

Sasuke nodded, though reluctantly. He guessed he owed it too her. She'd been a pain, but she'd also been a decent enough teammate. And Sakura had cared. Cared enough to try and stop him from leaving. Cared enough to beg to go with him. He sighed. He supposed he needed to visit Sakura before beginning to court Hinata. The last thing he needed was either Ino or Sakura hanging over him while trying to start his new family. Thinking of Hinata made him frown. "Now. Tell me, who is Hinata seeing that she's so 'in love' with if it isn't you?" Sasuked asked, sound more casual than he actually felt.

Naruto though, wasn't fooled. His blue eyes widened sharply. "You weren't kidding? You're looking at Hinata?"

Sasuke gave a short nod of his head, his expression not altering one little bit.

The blond shinobi scratched his head and shrugged. "I haven't heard. But if you do win her, that'd go a long way in helping you become re-established in Konoha. Her being a Hyuuga and all."

The Uchiha sighed and realized he couldn't let the comment simply slide. "I'm not looking to live in Konoha." He said gently, but aslo with a blunt truthfulness.

Naruto sat straight up, staring at the other man. "But you said the council saw things your way?"

"They did." Sasuke said. "But I didn't actually ask to be reinstated into the village."

"You didn't?" Naruto looked confused, lost even. "But then …what?"

Sasuke looked at his one-time friend and rival, surprised that he felt a sense of loss. He'd missed the blond idiot, but hadn't realized it until this conversation. He sighed heavily. "Naruto. I betrayed the village and all my oaths. Did you really think the council would seriously consider allowing me back?"

"But …but you got your revenge on Itachi. That's why you left the village, didn't they consider that?"

"I didn't ask them to do so." Sasuke admitted almost reluctantly. "I can't come back here, Naruto. Too much has changed. I've changed too much. Just because you're willing to forgive me, doesn't mean anyone else is."

"They'll come around!" Naruto stated fiercely.

Actually a bit touched, Sasuke slid his eyes away from the blond. He saw his jounin guard eyeing him coldly and it helped him to refocus. "I asked the council to rescind my status as a criminal and remove me from the BINGO book. I agreed to settle down close by, but not within the village. I didn't fight them on the confiscation of Uchiha land and they're granting me permission to live peacefully nearby. I'm also always to be available for the defense of the village if needed."

"Is that all?" Naruto said, his heart heavy.

Sasuke shook his head. "I've asked for and received permission to marry someone from the village. But we wouldn't live here. We wouldn't exactly be exiles, we can visit and shop and all that. Though I'd always be guarded while in the village proper." He paused and gave his friend a long look. "Naruto, it's the best I could expect from the Hokage and the council. Really."

Naruto looked away and Sasuke granted him time to think it all through. Finally the blond looked over at him. "What if you prove yourself to the council? What if you …"

"You're deliberately missing the point, dobe." Sasuke said, not without a hint of a smile. "I don't want to come back. I'm not the person I used to be, this place …it doesn't fit me anymore."

"What? And living on the outskirts in peace is what you want?" Yelled Naruto, half-rising in protest.

Sasuke gave him a hard stare and the blond settled back into his seat. "I want to have a family. That's all. That's all I'm looking for."

Naruto pouted as he shook his head. "And what if Hinata doesn't want to leave Konoha? What makes you think Hinata would even want that kind of life?"

"What makes you think she wouldn't?" Sneered Sasuke, his early moment of concern vanishing. He'd never had trouble attracting female attention, and he wasn't expecting that to have changed.

o.o.o.o.o

"Oh!" Akimichi Asami frowned slightly, hoping her son hadn't failed to let the girl know he'd been sent out on a mission. "I'm afraid Chouji's not at home."

Hinata smiled shyly and nodded. "I know, he told me. I just …my father wanted me to find out if there were any food allergies that he needed to be aware of. For the Winter Festival luncheon, that is. For some reason I keep forgetting to ask Chouji." She blushed, not mentioning that food allergies were the last thing on her mind when she was with him.

"Oh." Asami smiled knowingly. "That's very thoughtful of you and your father. Please, won't you come in?" She was pleased that the girl was thoughtful, and she was also happy that the girl didn't seem too forward like some of the other kunoichi these days.

Hinata smiled, then sniffed the air appreciatively, her smile disappearing. "Oh dear." She backed up a step. "You're making dinner, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not." Asami assured the younger girl. "I'm just making something to freeze for our neighbor, they just had a baby and she doesn't have much family close by. Thought I'd take her something fast and easy to heat up. Please, come inside and chat with me."

Hinata felt torn. She didn't want to intrude, but she did feel welcomed by the woman's pleasant face and manners. Slowly, she stepped inside. She slipped off her shoes without being asked and accepted the slippers Chouji's mother provided her with. Traditions seemed important in the Akimichi household, which didn't bother Hinata, as it was the same in the Hyuuga household as well.

Asami led the pretty young kunoichi into the kitchen and sat her at the table. Hinata didn't have time to be embarrassed as the woman placed some sweet dumplings and tea in front of her. "A small snack?"

She didn't have the heart to say no, and everything smelled so nice and felt so right. Hinata nodded shyly and thanked the older woman.

"Nothing to it." Asami laughed and patted Hinata's shoulder as she sat down with her own snack. "Chouji and his father prefer savory dishes over sweet ones, but they both love these dumplings so there's always plenty."

"Where do you get them?" Hinata asked, her curiosity aroused. If these were something Chouji liked, she wanted to know where to buy them.

Asami laughed, her jovial face lighting up. Hinata blinked, having never noticed how pretty Chouji's mother really was. "These were my great-aunt's recipe! She was a mean woman who always refused to share her recipes." She leaned in to whisper to Hinata. "My mother and I tricked Choza and his brother into stealing the recipe for us! That was back when we were courting, of course."

With a small shock, Hinata looked down at her plate, her face going beet red.

Misreading the look, Asami shook her head quickly. "Oh please don't think too badly of us, it was just a lark. And my great-aunt forgave us after Choza and his brother helped build her a remodeled kitchen."

Hinata looked up in panic, shaking her head wildly. "Oh, no! I could never think badly of you." Her voice fell into a whisper toward the end. "I need to go."

Akimichi Asami was not a shy woman. She clamped her hand down on Hinata's forearm keeping her in her chair. "Something's the matter. Did I offend you?" She asked anxiously, not wanting to be the reason her son's girlfriend fled.

"No, oh dear heaven's, no." Hinata felt awful, but her gaze fairly pled with Asami to let her go. "You've done nothing wrong!"

Asami tightened her grip, her gaze boring into Hinata's like only a mother could. "Tell me. How can we fix this if you run off now?"

Hinata whispered something, but dropped her head down so far all Asami could see was the long dark fall of her hair. With her free hand she rapped gently on the girl's head. Shocked, Hinata looked up. Pale-eyes blinked back tears as she saw only comfort and concern in the eyes of Chouji's mother.

"What?"

Hinata sighed, looking miserable. "I can't cook." She nearly wailed as she made her huge admission.

Asami sat back, never having thought that might be the problem. With a hearty laugh she looked away.

Beet red, Hinata slumped her shoulders.

"Oh, I'm not laughing at you dear." Asami said quickly. It absolutely thrilled her that Hinata wanted to make my son happy and worried about not being a good cook. She didn't say aloud that this meant that Hinata was thinking of Chouji in a long-term sense. She didn't want to scare the girl. "Are you a bad cook, or have you never tried?"

Hinata felt small as she shook her head. "Father has always employed a cook in the main branch of the family household. He said mother was a horrid cook and after she died …"

"Oh you poor lamb." Asami's dark gaze fairly melted in sympathy. "Of course you don't know how to cook." She paused, then wondered how far to push the young kunoichi. "Do you want to learn?"

Hinata caught her breath hopefully, then nodded. She'd never thought about it before, but suddenly, learning to cook seemed the most important thing in the world.

o.o.o.o.o

"Surprise!"

Sakura squealed as the concealed chakra behind her roared to life. She jumped nearly three feet in the air and spun in a tight circle, her fist clenched in preparation to attack. A second later, she pulled her punch and stumbled in anger. "Kiba! Don't do that!"

The Inuzuka stood there and grinned at her, apparently unconcerned. Akamaru 'woofed' his greeting as well.

"You're early." The pink-haired kunoichi pointed her finger at the dog-nin.

Kiba took a playful nip at her finger, which she quickly pulled back as she eyed his fangs. "No." He scolded her lightly. "We're on time, you're late."

"What? No." Sakura spun and looked at the clock, moaning. "Oh, Kiba! I'm so sorry! I was working on this research for Tsunade and I must have lost track of the time." She frowned down at herself. "I'm not even ready!"

Kiba eyed her figure appreciatively. "You look fine."

"Fine?" Scoffed Sakura.

"Good?" Asked Kiba, with fake-innocent eyes. "Sakura? You know you look great."

Mollified, though she'd honestly not been fishing for a compliment, Sakura gave his cheek a quick kiss.

"Mmmm…. Do that again." Kiba begged. "Only move it a few inches to the left." He'd been joking, so he was really surprised when she complied. Their lips melded together and it wasn't long before both of them forgot about running late to meet up with Temari and Shino.

"Ahem."

Sakura grinned against Kiba's sudden tension at the intrusion, reluctantly she pulled away from his warmth and his kisses. "Sorry, we were just leaving." She assured the person behind her, then turned to see who Kiba was frowning so hard at. "Oh." Her heart fell to her feet.

"Hello Sakura."

Kiba growled, echoed by Akamaru.

"What? Not happy to see me?" The Uchiha asked lightly, leaning against the doorway.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Comments are always welcome!**


	13. Helpful Advice

"Hello Sakura." Sasuke said after a long silent moment as the two of them stared at each other.

Akamaru growled as Kiba sneered at this former fellow Leaf nin. "You already said that." He said with an angry look.

Sasuke glanced down at the rather over-large nin-dog and was careful not to make any sudden moves. Akamaru's fangs were out and gleaming wickedly. The Uchiha looked back up at Kiba and was slightly amused to see the nin-dog wasn't the only one with his fangs clearly visible. "Calm down. She's all yours, I just stopped by to say hello."

Kiba stiffened, but didn't attack. Yet.

A deep sigh interrupted the hormonally charged posing. Sakura placed her hand gently on Kiba's forearm. The Inuzuka reluctantly tore his steely-eyed look away from his perceived rival to the girl standing beside him.

"Can you wait at the nursing desk? I won't be long." The pink-haired kunoichi's voice was almost pleading, her green eyes melting with the hope he'd understand.

Kiba growled low, not understanding at all. "We can cancel the date." He huffed as he motioned for Akamaru to head toward the door. But as he tried to take off, in anger he found he couldn't. Surprised, he glanced down at Sakura's small hand still on his forearm. She'd called her chakra to her hand and was currently holding him in place at her side. Surprised, he raised his dark eyes to her face.

"Kiba?" She called his name gently. "I really won't be but a moment. There's no need to cancel our evening." A world of meaning lay behind her simple statement, and the dog-nin finally started to relax as he realized she wasn't kicking him loose at the first sign of the Uchiha.

"I'll wait outside." He said with a cocky grin that he didn't quite feel. It went against his every instinct to leave the object of his affection in the company of the one man she'd ever admitted to loving. Kiba could still remember her terror, and her tears, as he and the others had gone to try and stop Sasuke's defection a few years ago. "It's a nice evening, I'll be at the main entrance waiting for you."

Sakura's smile trembled at the offer of silent trust he was offering her. She shook her head before letting go of his arm. "Nurse's desk. Just a few minutes. The nurses love Akamaru."

Kiba cocked his head slightly, knowing that to be a lie. The nurses tended to watch Akamaru closely whenever he visited, probably to make sure the large nin-dog didn't knock over anything important. Again. Ever since that time a few years ago when the dog had stepped on a few cords and unplugged them, the nurses always kept a weather eye on the nin-dog. "Sure." Was all he said though.

Sasuke was still standing in the doorway as the Inuzuka approached him. He gave a small half-sneer and stepped aside, ushering the way with one grand sweep of his right arm. Kiba ignored him completely as Akamaru merely yawned, his large teeth glistening menacingly.

The Uchiha chuckled as he closed the door. "Moved on, Sakura? Good for you. Still? You could do better." He expected his former teammate to bristle at his mocking tone. An angry Sakura was better for him to deal with than a weepy one. So he was a bit surprised when he got none of the responses he was prepared for.

Sakura looked him up once, then down. "When are you moving on?" She asked pointedly, her face expressionless. Her game face. The one she wore on missions, Sasuke knew it well but hadn't expected to see it right now. Not with him.

"Not happy to see me, after all this time?" He hedged, crossing his arms and leaning nonchalantly against the wall.

"I've seen you." Came her bland reply. As if he was of little to no importance, which he knew to be false.

Sasuke nodded, his gaze half-lidded. "When you came after me, you mean. That's when you saw me?"

"I came after you because I thought there was still some of my former teammate left in you." She corrected him calmly. "But no, that's not what I meant when I said I've seen you."

The Uchiha blinked lazily at her, but didn't ask the obvious question.

Sakura didn't appear to be fazed by his silence though. She waited him out.

"You've changed." He finally commented, a little surprised by the changes in her. Why he thought he could change and she would forever remain the same he didn't know. Foolishly, he felt a little hurt that she wasn't the same as she'd been when he'd left.

"I grew up." She nodded absently toward him. "To you that might be a big change, what with not being here and all to see it happen."

Sasuke sighed, that sounded more like the kunoichi he knew. "Do you want me to apologize?"

"It would be a lie." Sakura responded, for the first time looking a bit angry. "You lie well, but I don't want one from you now."

He nodded, conceding the point that any apology from him would be meaningless. He'd accomplished his goal, and that's all he'd wanted. "Itachi is dead."

"What am I supposed to say?" She asked. "Congratulations on being the last of your family tree? Oh wait, I forgot you're looking to start up that lineage again."

Sasuke didn't know what to say to that. It was true, but the look in her eyes told him she didn't expect an invitation from him. Nor did she look like any such invitation would be welcomed by her. All of a sudden, he blinked hard. "You knew?"

"About your reasons for being in Konoha?" Sakura nodded and started to put away her research materials. She moved with a quick and efficient grace. "Of course."

"That was council business." He stood up, away from the wall as his dark eyes flashed with annoyance. "How did you find out?"

"Who did you think they'd ask about you?" She turned and gave him a wide-eyed look. "The council approached me the moment you approached them. Kakashi too."

Unnerved, Sasuke blurted out the first thing that came to mind. "Not Naruto?"

A dry chuckle escaped the pink-haired girl. "His views didn't need to be asked. Naruto has _always_ been keen to bring you back."

"As you once were." He sighed. "You said you'd seen me? Does that mean you were out looking for me?"

"No." Sakura sighed deeply as she met his gaze, then let her green eyes fall away. "No. What I meant was that I helped treat the ones you and your new friends broke. I saw you every time I treated an innocent bystander that you left behind as you and Snake hunted down Itachi. I saw you in every bit of scorched earth, every drop of spilled blood, and every frightened look. And with each 'sighting' of you, I let go of a little piece of my image of who I thought you were, until I was left looking at a stranger."

By the time she'd finished speaking, her gaze was solidly locked with his. And this time, it was dark eyes that looked away first.

"We're ninja. We fight, people get hurt."

Sakura shook her head, clenching one fist so hard she crushed a scroll letter like so much dust. "No Sasuke. _We're_ ninja. We follow the mission, not our own wishes. We tend the village, our families, and our comrades. We try to minimize civilian death, much less injuries. You are not ninja. You're rogue."

A dry barking laugh escaped him. "I guess your response to the council was not a positive review of me."

"I abstained." She gave an arch glance to his obvious look of surprise. "Part of me wanted you to return so you'd have a chance at a normal life. Sasuke," Her voice faded gently as she sighed. "I still love that boy I thought I knew."

"He doesn't exist anymore." Sasuke said a bit gruffly.

Sakura gave him a bitter-sweet smile. "He never did, I know that now."

Suddenly Sasuke grinned, making the pink-haired girl blink as she felt the old familiar tug on her heart. "What?" She growled suspiciously.

"You couldn't vote against me."

Sakura shook her head. "Idiot, I didn't have a _vote_, just an opinion."

"And you didn't vote _against_ me." His quirky smile made her stomach turn over as she say the boy she'd once loved still somewhere within him. "Just admit it, you're as happy that I'm back as Naruto is. You abstained, so what? That's not a **negative** vote. And the others must have given a good report on my behalf, since the council voted in my favor."

Reality reinserted itself quickly as Sakura sighed. "You haven't seen Kakashi, have you?"

Sasuke grimaced slightly as he shook his head. "He's not in town, he's out on a mission."

Sakura shook her head and let it slide. She wasn't going to be the one to tell him that his former sensei had been even more hurt than she'd been when Sasuke had defected. Kakashi wasn't on a mission. Nor had the infamous copy-nin abstained in his opinion when the council had come calling. Sakura had seen the hurt in his visible eye as he'd given a less than favorable opinion on Sasuke's behalf. Kakashi just didn't flat out trust his former student. Not anymore.

As badly as she'd felt betrayed by the Uchiha, it was nothing on what Kakashi had felt knowing that things he'd taught his student were not fighting on Konoha's behalf. The chidori being used in the hands of a rogue ninja, an enemy of the Leaf, had been a very bitter draught for the copy-nin to swallow.

As deep as friendship went, the bond between sensei and student went even deeper.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji desperately hid himself from his sensei, breathing a sigh of relief as he sensed Gai moving off toward the Hokage tower. He'd known that if he could hide for another few minutes he'd be safe as Gai had a scheduled meeting with the Hokage and the other sensei jounin. It had been a close call though, too close.

The Hyuuga straightened up his clothing and his spine as he emerged from the shadows, breathing a sigh of relief. Training he could take any day, even Gai's overly zealous version of training. But his 'romantic coaching' was another thing entirely. What a crock of nonsense. Pretty words? Gifts? Standing with manly confidence and an eye catching grin? That might be his sensei's style, but not Neji's.

_Then again_, he thought to himself, had his way proven any better than Gai's? No. Yes. He reassured himself as he headed back toward the Hyuuga compound. Gai was still single too, and at least Neji had HAD a girlfriend within recent memory!

Rounding a corner, Neji came to a sudden and complete stop, the air in his lungs seizing up. TenTen was shopping. With her hair down and loosely pulled back in a long tail. Two things TenTen never did. At least the TenTen HE knew.

Narrowing his eyes, Neji looked around carefully, even going so far as to activate his Byakugan. That Sand bastard was no where in the vicinity. _Perfect_. With patently false casualness, Neji approached his former girlfriend.

o.o.o.o.o

"Oh no."

Gaara looked up at the soft exclamation, even while listening to the words of the merchant. He was in the marketplace making new arrangements for trade agreements with some of the vendors.

His eyes looked over at Ino's worried look, then followed her gaze. Jade-pale eyes narrowed dangerously on the man with the dark hair.

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto sighed, having gone against Sakura's wishes. He'd sought out Kakashi's advice on women.

His teammate and former sensei had been less than forthcoming. He'd watched with baited breath as the copy-nin had whipped out a piece of paper and had written down several notations for him. He remembered how eager he'd been when Kakashi had handed him his _advice_. Just as he also remembered the crushing disappointment when he'd read it.

"Stupid Kakashi." Naruto sighed as he crumpled up the paper listing all of the _Icha Icha_ titles. Not knowing what else to do, he'd wandered the village, hoping for inspiration to strike. But no ideas had hit him, only hunger.

Two huge bowls of steaming ramen later, he felt better, but was no closer to understanding women. So he sat down on a bench underneath the Hokage monument and watched as people passed by, paying close attention to the couples.

Maybe he could learn something through intense concentration and people watching skills, he was a ninja after all. Observation skills were an important part of life as a ninja. Five minutes later he was fighting not to fall asleep and regretting being comfortably full of ramen.

Ten minutes later, he was snoozing away on the bench.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura smiled with genuine relief as she saw Kiba and Akamaru at the nursing desk. The huge nin-dog was lolling on his back and having his belly scratched by one of the new nursing students.

"Ready?" She asked as she nearly ran into Kiba's arms. He hugged her close and sniffed deeply, nearly burying his head in the crook of her neck.

Akamaru gave a pouting bark and whined, clearly wanting to stay and enjoy the adoration of the pretty nursing student. Kiba gave a chuckle then let go of Sakura long enough to grab her hand and head for the exit. "Come on, boy. We're running late. Shino was very nice to reserve a table at a restaurant that will allow you to come in with us."

The nin-dog gave a hopeful yip.

"No, no table scraps." Kiba gave a mock pout and squeezed Sakura's hand. "And no begging my girlfriend either, she's on to you now buddy!"

Sakura nearly laughed as Kiba winked at her. They all knew she was a soft touch and more than one piece of prime scrap would find its way to the dog.

Genma and the other jounin guarding Sasuke watched the two go with varying degrees of smiles. The Uchiha walked up to them slowly just as the young couple finally departed.

"I hope he wasn't too much trouble." Sasuke said.

"Trouble?" Raido quirked one brow at the Sharingan user.

A third jounin chuckled dryly, Sasuke frowned over at him, for the moment forgetting the man's name. "What's so funny? He was jealous when he left." The Uchiha pointed out.

Genma nodded, enjoying the moment far more than he probably should. "Maybe, but that was before Sakura asked him to wait here for her."

"And was alone. With me." Sasuke pointed out drolly. "He couldn't have liked that."

Raido shrugged. "Yes, but she asked him to wait for her. Here. That's what eased the moment."

Sasuke shook his head, clearly not getting it.

Genma sighed. "Sakura asked him to wait HERE, not outside. You remember who that is don't you?"

Sasuke merely sneered, as if he'd forgotten Inuzuka Kiba. _Oh!_ The light dawned. Sasuke sighed. "He heard every word." Sasuke stated with certainty.

"Just as Sakura intended. You weren't alone with her, not really." Raido commented with a small grin of satisfaction. "Even we could hear some of it. Kiba? He heard ever nuance, smelled every shift of pheromones, and could sense where each of you were at every given moment. She made sure he was close by and could hear everything being said."

Genma nodded. "Tsunade's starting a betting pool on a date."

Raido looked over at him, surprised. "Engagement date?"

The senbon user laughed. "Hardly. A break-up date. She thinks both Kiba and Sakura are too volatile a combination. She's sure they're going to break up spectacularly."

The third jounin laughed. "They're doomed. If Tsunade's betting they're breaking up, they'll be married by spring."

Genma laughed hard enough to pull a frown from the suddenly irrationally irritated Uchiha. "I put my money on early Summer."

"Hinata will go first, mark my words." Raido said calmly, pointedly ignoring Sasuke's suddenly sharp look.

Genma nodded. "I agree."

"Who?" Sasuke asked, trying to seem innocently curious. "Who's she involved with?"

Raido gave a nasty-eyed grin. "Tsk. Tsk. Thought you'd get it by now."

"Yep." Genma shook his head sadly. "We were close enough to get the gist of your conversation with Hyuuga Hiashi. He told you no when you asked about his daughter Hinata."

Sasuke stiffened, but having already thought about this. "You are my guards. You're instructions from the Hokage were not to interfere with my courtship, not matter what, no matter who." He paused dramatically. "Unless I'm putting Konoha in danger, you can not interfere."

Genma leaned closer to Sasuke's face, his senbon a mere hair's breadth from the Uchiha's eyes. The former Leaf nin didn't even flinch. Genma smirked and pulled back. "No, no interference. But then, nor will we help. You're on your own."

Sasuke nodded stiffly. "I always have been." He stated, then turned to march away.

Raido sighed, shaking his head. Genma nodded at the others as they followed. Sasuke was wrong, he'd not been alone, he'd chosen to leave them, and the village itself. If he'd only reached out, bent his damned Uchiha pride, he would have found a whole village who'd have stood by him.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji would have slid right up next to the slender kunoichi and surprised her, if not for the fact that TenTen was an excellent ninja and had sensed him coming even while he was suppressing his chakra. Neji knew to the moment when she became aware of his presence, and it tore something deep inside him that she actually stiffened uncomfortably.

Her dark chocolate eyes turned toward his with all the warmth of …nothing. Neji blinked. He could no longer read her like he'd once been able. "TenTen?" His voice came out far more brusquely than he would have liked.

"Neji." She gave him a small jerk of a nod, her eyes giving away nothing of her feelings.

TenTen tried to still the quiver in her fingers as she looked at her teammate, hoping he couldn't read her nervousness. She was early to meet Kankuro, but hadn't really considered who else she might run into in the marketplace. That thought pulled a frown to her smooth lips. "Shopping?"

"Hiding." He snorted, then gave a small sigh. "Gai-sensei."

She nodded to show she understood completely. They shared an unspoken moment of unity as they contemplated their often overzealous sensei as they smiled. Their mutual smiles faded slowly as they both realized that they were no longer as united as they'd once been.

"I owe you an apology." TenTen said into the silence, shifting a bit uncomfortably.

Surprised, Neji just looked at her and waited.

TenTen sighed. "I should have told you things were over, rather than just showing up at the Aburame dinner with another date like that. I'm sorry."

"Why'd you do it then?" Neji asked, hoping he didn't sound whiny. He hated whiners. "I thought things were going so well between us."

TenTen sighed again, this time looking away. "You see? That's what I get." She turned back to him and shook her head. "Neji, I was apologizing for the WAY I let you know. But I wasn't apologizing for actually breaking up with you."

"Things were perfect." He snapped.

"No, they weren't." TenTen's gaze softened as she took in his haughty expression. It had taken her awhile to realize that when he looked like this, he was actually at his most vulnerable. Then again, he used the same look when being overconfident. Sometimes it was hard to tell the difference with him, but she thought she could read him better than most. She started to feel her heart warm a bit, and stiffened as she deliberately called to mind all the very good reasons she'd broken up with him. "You were taking me for granted."

Neji growled, narrowing his eyes on her. But before he could respond, she poked him hard enough to back him up one step.

"You sent me notes telling me what TIME to be ready, but not asking if I wanted to go out or even bothering to ask if I had other plans. My plans were meaningless next to yours. You forgot important dates, and brought me gifts that I couldn't eat …"

"I forgot you were allergic to strawberries, I'm sorry!"

TenTen growled a warning at him, backing him up a second step. He eyed her and watched for hidden weapons. With TenTen, there were _always_ weapons. "You were never available for _my_ family functions, even though I went to all of yours. You had me pigeon-holed right where you wanted, but gave nothing of yourself in return."

Unable of what to say or do next, Neji just stood there feeling like a damned fool. As TenTen counted off each and every one of his faults, Neji had no answer for her. He listened as she got more and more worked up as she went on and on. Was he really that bad?

Feeling sick to his stomach, Neji just stood there, fighting the urge to run away like a coward. In his mind, he scrambled for something to say. ANYTHING to say that would make this better. A vision of Gai popped up suddenly in his head, and he nearly groaned as he heard again the advice of his sensei.

Pretty words wouldn't cut it now. He winced as TenTen dredged up the time he'd forgotten they were to meet and had left her at the movie house waiting for him for over an hour. In the snow. After she'd cancelled a luncheon with a girlfriend just to meet up with him, at his request no less! Gai had mentioned gifts too, but he had none on him, and somehow Neji didn't think that would work right now.

Then there was Gai's last piece of advice. _Actions speak louder than words. Show her the kind of man you are by how you treat her. Show her the depth of your youthful feelings rather than just saying that you're sorry._

Action! Sure, why not? Neji groaned as he watched TenTen poke him yet again in the chest. Without thought, he grabbed her finger, wrapping his hand around her smaller one. She glared up at him in surprise, a snarl on her pretty lips.

Neji's focus faded to those lips. _Actions_?

TenTen jerked in surprise as Neji did the unthinkable. He kissed her. In public. Wildly and with all the romantic impulse and heat she'd ever dreamed of in her wildest fantasies.

o.o.o.o.o

A block away, Kankuro saw the kiss and went airborne, his hand seals flying to release the puppet scrolls on his back. Murder flashed in his dark eyes as his focus narrowed on a certain Hyuuga. He'd been hanging back, watching as TenTen gave Neji what-for. He'd even been enjoying it somewhat, that is until Neji grabbed TenTen.

Blood was going to spill over this.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino grabbed Gaara's arm. "Stop them!"

"Why?" The red-head sighed, even as he sent his sand streaming out from his gourd. The worry in the blonde's voice pulled at him and he sighed as his sand wrapped around his brother's ankle and jerked him to a tooth-rattling stop.

Kankuro glared over at his brother in confusion and fury. "What the hell?"

Gaara jerked his head in the direction of the Hyuuga and Kankuro turned just in time to see Neji flying through the air and striking the side of a building. Both Sand brothers grinned as they saw the angry look on TenTen's face as she settled into a fighting stance.

The sand disappeared as suddenly as it had appeared, and Kankuro was once more racing toward the fallen Hyuuga.

Ino gasped. "You let him go?"

Gaara shrugged. "I gave the Hyuuga enough time to prepare to fight, or to run."

"Oh." Ino sighed with a twinkle in her eye. "I think TenTen took care of it well enough."

Gaara shook his head with a small sneer. "If it were me, and my girl? There wouldn't be enough of the guy for the family to identify for burial."

Butterflies danced in Ino's stomach as she looked at Gaara. _His girl_? Did he mean …her? Unsure how she felt about that, Ino looked away.

Gaara never saw Ino's worried glance as he too turned away, a bit taken aback by how much he'd just revealed to her. Had she caught the reference? Would it spook her?

"You're not very nice are you?" Ino asked, her voice soft.

"No." Gaara said simply, not wanting to sugarcoat anything. A soft brush of fingertips on his exposed cheek startled him, his eyes shot to hers as she traced the line of his cheekbone up to the side of his face. He stood still and allowed her to brush the hair off his forehead and trace the lines of his tattoo.

Unable to face the feelings her simple touch ignited in him, he captured her soft hand in his own. Instead of getting angry though, Ino gave him a dewy-eyed smile and left her hand in his. Gaara caught his breath as her fingers laced through his own.

"I think we need to go save your brother."

The words he heard didn't match the look she was giving him, and it took Gaara a moment to process. He blinked owlishly at her, then shook his head. "Kankuro can hold his own against the Hyuuga."

Ino giggled and gave his hand a small tug toward the others. "It's not Neji he needs protection from."

Gaara followed beside the blond, unsure what to make of her. Not sure how he'd stand to let her go after three months. Already it was getting hard to fall asleep without her voice lulling him into dreamless slumber. It felt distinctly uncomfortable to need her in his life so much. But it felt worse to contemplate going home without her. Maybe he should end things sooner, rather than later so that it wouldn't hurt so much. If he was so bad off now, how much worse would it be later? The Winter Festival was two weeks away. After that, he had just under two months with her. He should cut his losses now and head back to Suna. Only …he wasn't sure he could.

"Cacti have flowers, you know. Even in the desert we have flowers."

Surprised, Ino's gaze fell away from TenTen loudly giving grief to Kankuro to look at the red-head beside her. She tightened her grasp in his and smiled. "Cactus flowers mean endurance, and warmth."

Gaara nodded and let the warmth of her touch seep slowly into his heart. Even if he regretted it bitterly later, he couldn't just walk away now.

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto woke as the sun was setting, yawning as he stretched. "I didn't mean to sleep so long." He said, mostly to himself.

A long drawn out sigh from the next bench over had the blond shinobi looking that way, he drew back a bit in surprise. "What happened to you?"

The Suna puppet user shrugged off the question with a sneer, pointedly ignoring his blackening eye.

"Who'd you fight with?" Naruto persisted, going over to sit with Kankuro.

Trying to ignore the Leaf nin proved worthless as Kankuro found out as the questions kept coming, even as he tried to get up and leave. Finally he snapped and told Naruto about seeing Neji kissing TenTen.

Naruto looked confused and scratched his head. "So what? They're dating."

Kankuro growled so low that Naruto's blue eyes widened. "What'd I say?" The blond whined.

The puppet user sighed and relaxed back onto his bench. "Nevermind."

"No, really, I gotta know!" Naruto needled the Suna shinobi.

"Fine. If you have to know, TenTen broke up with Neji. She's dating ME!" Kankuro said, jerking a thumb at his own chest. Then he deflated a bit. "Or she was until she got mad at me."

Naruto sighed, shaking his head. "I don't get women. She was kissing Neji, but she's mad at you?"

Kankuro shook his head. "I don't get women either. And Neji was kissing her, not the other way around. And she kicked his ass handily into the side of a building."

"Really?" Naruto asked with a grin. "I'm sorry I missed that!"

"I thought you and Neji were friends?"

"We are." The blond nodded sagely. "But I still love to see a good fight. But all this doesn't explain your eye."

Kankuro sighed and shrugged. "TenTen got mad at me for running to her 'rescue' or even thinking for ONE second that she was kissing Neji instead of the other way around. Then she broke up with me, hit me, kicked Neji and stalked off."

"Ouch."

"Yep."

A long silence fell over the two shinobi. Finally Naruto sighed. "At least you had a girlfriend, even for a while. I'm on 'probation' in their stupid kunoichi BINGO book."

"I might be on it as of tomorrow." Kankuro sighed. "_For the crime of caring too much_, I can just see the caption under my picture now." Another sigh followed the first. "But I don't give a shit. Picture or no picture, I'm getting my girl back."

"How?" Naruto asked breathlessly, hoping for some good advice.

Kankuro sighed. "I …I don't know."

"You got her in the first place, you've gotta know SOMETHING." Naruto almost begged.

The puppet user sighed. "She pulled my name out of a stupid cup. Pure chance. I don't suppose you know how to get a girl over being mad at you?" He looked at Naruto's innocent face and sighed. "No, I didn't think so."

"Don't you know how to … talk to women and stuff?" Naruto asked, poking at Kankuro's deflated pride.

The Suna shinobi sighed as he ruefully admitted the truth. "I only dated the easy girls at home. Tea hostess types. The nice girls never looked at me, unless they wanted to get closer to the Kazekage's office …either through my father or my brother. Tea girls? They get mad at you, buy them a gift. Sparkly works best."

"Oh." Naruto thought of TenTen and shook his head. "I don't think sparkly would work now."

Kankuro nodded. "Me neither. She doesn't wear sparkly stuff, nor does she seem to care. She's …different. Real."

Naruto caught his breath at the puppet ninja's tone. "You really like her."

The puppeteer growled and stood, ready to leave behind this humiliating conversation.

"You know. I was trying to figure out who to get advice from. About women, I mean."

Kankuro stopped in mid-step, turning a baleful eye on the blond. "And?"

Naruto sighed. "I don't know. Kakashi-sensei was a wash, he doesn't have a girlfriend and all he gave me was _Icha Icha_ titles."

Wincing, Kankuro looked away. "Who else?"

"Sasuke, but he wouldn't help. Claims not to know." Naruto sighed. "Kiba and Shino are out, they're like you …got their girl's from the tea cup name-pulling thingy. Asuma would be the best choice I guess, but he's gone."

"And Baki didn't come with us this trip." Kankuro sighed. "Who else?"

"Neji's out." Naruto ignored the growl from the puppet user at THAT particular name. "Shikamaru's out and Chouji's new to this too. We need a guy in a long-term relationship with a girl. A guy who can make a girl stick with him."

Kankuro grinned as a lightbulb went off in his head. "No, no we don't."

"Huh?"

"What we need is a girl!" The puppet user crowed.

Naruto shrugged. "I thought that was the whole point of the conversation? How to get a girl?"

Kankuro whacked Naruto alongside the head. "Idiot. We need to ask a GIRL for advice. They'd know how to get around TenTen's anger better than any damned guy would!"

The blonde's look of irritation fled as he grinned from ear to ear. "And a girl would know how to get me off the stupid probation!"

The both laughed and grinned at each other until Naruto asked the most important question. "But which girl do we ask?"

o.o.o.o.o

**I'm back! And now I've updated! Finally. Hope you've enjoyed, updates will be quicker now that my schedule is starting to lighten up. Thanks for being patient! Reviews are always appreciated.**

**THANKS!**


	14. Tea, Ramen, and Sympathy

"Ino?"

"No."

"But whyyyy?" Came the whining response from the hyperactive blond.

Kankuro sighed heavily as he sat bleary eyed in the restaurant. "I know you love ramen, but do we have to meet here _every_ day?"

"Ramen's the best food in the world! It's great fuel to think with." Naruto asserted, his blue eyes sparkling with way too much energy for the puppeteer to face right now.

"If that's true." The Sand ninja paused for a jaw cracking yawn. "Then why are we sitting here alone, AGAIN when the Winter Festival is only three days away? As for Ino, I still say 'no'. She's dating my baby brother, they both already know how pathetic we are, why call attention to it by bringing it up?"

Naruto frowned. "You didn't sleep again? Why won't you tell me what you're working on, maybe I could help." He offered, just as two steaming bowls of barbeque ramen were placed before the two men. He thanked Ayame with a quick smile, ignoring how she lingered just a little longer than she should to straighten the area in front of them.

Kankuro ignored her as he picked at his food. "You can't help, idiot. Besides, it's …personal." He said, not wanting to talk about what he was working on into well past dawn each day. "I still say we hunt down Hinata and ask her, she's too nice to laugh at us."

Naruto pursed his lips, shaking his head. "She's no where to be found. She trains and then disappears for hours on end. I tried to catch up with her once, but she went to Chouji's house and stayed for almost forever."

Kankuro paused, his chopsticks half-way to his mouth. "But I thought Chouji was still out on that mission?"

The blond nodded and shrugged as if to say it was all a mystery to him. What he didn't mention was seeing Sasuke also following Hinata. "Trust me, she's too busy right now." Naruto sighed and slurped up the final bits of his ramen as he turned his head to eye Kankuro's half-full bowl. He did it on purpose, partly to get more ramen, and partly to turn the conversation. Naruto wasn't sure how he felt about Sasuke staking out Hinata like that. She was a friend. So was Chouji. Should he warn them? But what about his friendship with Sasuke? Sure, he'd been gone awhile, but still …Naruto sighed.

The puppeteer sighed in return and started to shove his remaining food over toward his companion. "Go ahead." But before Naruto could reach the bowl, a second steaming bowl was placed in front of him.

Both young men looked up just as Ayame made some stammering explanation about how she'd made too much and it shouldn't go to waste.

"Alright!" Naruto crowed, fist pumped in the air seconds before he grinned and gave a cackling laugh. He broke open fresh chopsticks eagerly. "How lucky is that?! Wow!"

Kankuro didn't answer, watching the way Ayame peeked back at them. No, not them, the blond beside him. As he absently finished his own meal, a thought began to form.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen stood, breath heaving, as she cleaned up her full arsenal. Every piece of thrown or projected weaponry hung from every bulls-eye on the field.

Lee and Matsuri called out a cheerful farewell, which she returned. Neji just watched, giving a small wave, which she also returned though silently.

Kurenai watched alongside Gai, shaking her head. "She won't talk to him?"

Gai shrugged. "I've tried to talk to her, so has Neji. She'll talk just fine, but not about anything personal. Lee's the only one she's not mad at right now, but when I asked him to talk to TenTen about this, he refused."

Utterly shocked, Kurenai gave Gai a very wide gaze. "Lee would never refuse you anything."

Gai nodded, then shrugged. "Matsuri was with him when I asked, she said that for the third person in the team to interfere between the other two would cause even more friction and could cause the whole thing to break apart." The Mighty Green Beast of Konoha sighed. "I saw Lee was reluctant, and the lovely young desert bloom had a very good point, so I told him to let it be."

Kurenai nodded. "So you called me instead." She sighed as she watched TenTen gather up and clean her myriad of weapons. "I see why you called me, but I wish I hadn't been home. These things are always touchy."

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke leaned against the storefront eating an apple. Despite the chilly weather, he wasn't heavily cloaked as he stared off into the distance. Hints of his chest peeked through his robes, it was an enticing picture. A small sound appeared to pull at his attention and he looked down the street, looking utterly casual. A blink and the hint of a smile. "Hello Hinata."

The purple-haired kunoichi blinked back at him, startled that he'd addressed her. "Oh, hello. Sasuke-sama."

The hint of a smile disappeared into what looked like a small hurt. "Sama? We graduated the Academy together, surely that's too formal between friends?"

"F…friends?" Hinata quirked her head slightly to the side, letting the long fall of her hair tease her shoulder. "I'm glad you're looking to make friends again. In Konoha I mean."

Sasuke casually stood up from where he'd been leaning. "Friendships are very important."

Hinata nodded quietly in agreement, then looked surprised as he fell in beside her. "May I escort you?"

She shook her head. "There's little need, I'm not going far."

Sasuke frowned. No, she wasn't going far. To the Akimichi household from what he'd been seeing. And as he knew her to be 'in love' and as he also knew Chouji to be an only son, that solved _that_ riddle. He grinned inwardly. Chouji? No competition at all.

o.o.o.o.o

"I know!" Naruto suddenly sat up straight in his chair. "Matsuri! We can ask her, she and Lee have been almost inseparable lately! Bushy brows has never looked so happy. We'd get great advice from her!"

Kankuro sank down morosely in his own seat. "No. And before you ask, it's because I have to return to Suna with her. She's not an airhead like most of Gaara's fangirls, but I don't want my humiliation spread over TWO villages. Besides, she's only recently been with Lee, before that she was pining after my brother. Hardly the fountain of knowledge relationship-wise."

Naruto sighed as he reluctantly let go of his 'brilliant' idea. "Well, then why can't we just go ask granny Tsunade? Or Shizune?"

The puppeteer shrugged. "I told you, they're too old. Besides, neither one is in a long term relationship. We need to get advice from a girl in solid with a guy. Ask her what made her stick with him."

The blond shook his head. "I don't know any girls like that. Most of the girls I know dropped their boyfriends and are dating new people."

Kankuro looked over at where Ayame had glanced over at Naruto yet again. Deciding to follow his instincts, he raised his voice a bit. "What about the serving girl here, what's her name again?" He was pleased to see the pretty young lady stiffen slightly, oh she was listening alright.

But before Naruto could answer a third person slid in on the opposite side of the blond, effectively drawing his attention away from Kankuro's question. Judging from the angry look Ayame shot Sai, the puppeteer knew he'd been right in his guess.

"Ohayo!" Naruto called out loudly, even though Sai was right beside him.

"Help me." Came the hissed response from the artist.

Both the puppet user and the orange-clad blond blinked hard at those words. They'd almost sounded …emotional.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen pointedly ignored Kurenai at first, then whipped an angry look at the older kunoichi. "Gai-sensai calling in back-up? He must be desperate."

Kurenai shrugged lightly and started picking senbon out of the tree, inspecting them for damage before packing them away with casual ease. "He doesn't want the team fractured."

"If it is it wouldn't be MY fault!" Huffed TenTen, then sighed. "Or at least not all of it." She allowed with a small shake of her head.

"Okay, I've seen the kunoichi BINGO book and I've got an inkling about why you called it off with the Hyuuga." Kurenai said slowly, studying the girl even as TenTen turned her head away. "Reading between the lines, he was taking you for granted and you got tired of it."

"Pretty much."

Kurenai nodded again and handed the pack of senbon to the weapons mistress. Next she started collecting the multitude of shuriken. "And so you and your girlfriends pulled names out of a tea cup." At TenTen's startled look, Kurenai just grinned. "Hard to keep something like that a secret, especially around ninja trained to find out secrets."

TenTen pursed her lips and nodded as she spread out her empty scrolls and began the process of handseals to re-embed them.

The older kunoichi waited until the girl was rolling up the first scroll before speaking again. "Kankuro isn't a bad choice, even if he is a foreigner. He looks decent too, now that he's lost the hood. I liked the facial paint though."

A shrug and a quick jerk of her head were the only indications that TenTen had heard her.

"Still, it's unreasonable to break up with a guy just because he got angry that someone else grabbed you in public."

TenTen growled and hung her head, finally looking up to meet Kurenai's gaze. She sighed deeply and whispered her confession. "That's not why I broke it off with him."

Surprised, Kurenai's eyebrows winged upwards. "But that's what you told him, no?"

TenTen blushed slightly and nodded.

"So. It was just an excuse." Kurenai waited until TenTen nodded. "Fine. What's the real reason? Because if you're just playing games with these guys, Gai isn't the only one who'll have your head on a platter. Ninja teams aren't to be toyed around with on some sort of emotional whim. Nor is it cool to start a war with another ninja village. So spill."

o.o.o.o.o

"I should kill her, that'll end it."

Ino sighed into her tea. "Temari, you can't just kill her."

"She's torn him to shreds! You should see him at breakfast, he's not sleeping!" The pony-tailed kunoichi kept her voice down, but only barely. "If she wants Neji back, she should have the decency to wait until the end of the three months! Those were the rules, or am I wrong?"

Sakura shook her head. "You're right, but we can't kill her. We don't even know her side of it yet."

Temari eyed the other girls, her own gaze snapping with anger. "Her side? She's been avoiding us for days. It's obvious she …"

"Nothing's obvious yet." Ino interrupted, then sighed, trying to turn the subject. "Except that I'm falling flat on my face with your other brother.

Huffing out a breath, Temari just stared at the other blond a moment. "Are you kidding? Garaa's head over heels for you."

Ino laid her head down on the table with a moan. "Liar."

Sakura peered over at Temari, seeing only sincerity in the Sand kunoichi's face. "Head over heels?"

"Hardly." Ino sat back up and looked at the others balefully. And Lee's with Matsuri and Sai put himself on the 'undateable' list. Am I supposed to wait around for … who? We're out of alternates."

Temari chuckled. "You don't need one, from what Kankuro and the Sand guards have told me, you are golden." She said that with a bit of a bite, grimacing. "Sorry, things are good with me and Shino. Still, he's not looking at me the way Gaara looks at you."

Now Sakura sat back shaking her head. "Are you kidding? Shino has been almost human lately. Do you know the last time we've seen his face? You're the only one who's gotten that hood off of him in years."

Temari gave a shy smile, looking hopefully at the other two girls. "Really?"

Ino nodded. "Bug-boy is a whole different guy around you. You've got him. For three months or forever, he's yours for as long as you want."

Sakura nodded solemnly. "We were talking about kidnapping you and keeping you in Konoha, because when you head back to Suna he's going to be down. Way down."

Temari blushed slightly, though she couldn't hide the pleasure that hit her with those words. "Uhm, I've been thinking about asking Gaara if I could stay on for a while. Teach at the Academy a bit."

Grinning, the pink-haired girl raised her tea cup. "Oooh! You've got it as bad as he does. I love it!"

Ino nodded her agreement. "After what happened with Shika-jerk I wasn't sure if we'd last as friends past the revenge stage. But I'm glad you're thinking about turning serious with Aburame. He's a good guy."

"Yes he is." Temari fought her blush and turned her own gaze back on the other blond. "Now, what makes you think Gaara isn't in to you?"

Ino shrugged, looking embarrassed. "He's a good kisser."

"Too much!" Temari moaned, hiding her face with her hands as Sakura grinned. "Baby brother and all that! Keep it clean!"

"But …well, he listens really well. Most guys get tired of me talking and tune me out or tell me to shut up."

Sakura nodded as she shared a look with Temari, they'd both been surprised that Gaara wasn't turned off by the constant chatter of the pretty blond. They'd talked it over before the Sand brothers had even arrived in Konoha, ready to step in and help Ino pick an alternate. It hadn't happened.

"When I stop talking, he looks up and asks a question about what I've been talking about, even when he's been doing his own paperwork. He really seems to like hearing me talk and he even pays attention to what I'm saying." Ino sounded as surprised as the other two girls looked.

"Go on." Temari asked, drinking in every word. "It doesn't sound bad yet."

"But a couple times now, he's fallen asleep on the couch." Ino admitted with a groan. "He's listening, but apparently I'm boring him to death."

Sakura pursed her lips. "Maybe you just need to steer the conversation to things he's interested in."

"Maybe she's perfect." Temari breathed out, then took in the startled looks on the other two girl's faces. "Sorry, what I mean is …do you have ANY clue what a miracle it is that Gaara feels comfortable enough in your presence to fall asleep?"

Ino blinked. "What?" She asked, not having thought along those lines.

Temari sighed. "You know about the Sand demon, right?" Both girls nodded. "He couldn't sleep back then because every time he did Shukaku would eat away at his controls, his personality. It was fucked up beyond anything you can think of."

"Shukaku's been gone for a while now though." Ino pointed out, wanting to trust Temari's words about Gaara being gone on her, but not wanting to be disappointed either.

The multi-pony-tailed kunoichi laughed ruefully. "He's spent his whole life not able to sleep well, that doesn't just go away. Gaara sleeps better now, but he has to drag himself to almost mind-numbing fatigue to be able to fall asleep sometimes. Dreadful insomnia. Sometimes bad nightmares too." She spilled Gaara's secrets without a qualm. "And he NEVER falls asleep with anyone else present in the room."

Ino sat back, taking it all in. "He's not like that with me."

Temari shook her head very, very slowly as Sakura caught her breath. "No. Not with you." The girl leaned forward earnestly. "Do you know how much the Suna guards love you right now? They'd walk across burning shards of glass for you."

"Really?" Came the breathless answer as Ino tried to absorb that information, feeling over her head and out of her depth. She was used to being chased or doing the chasing. This quiet kind of courtship was beyond her, deep and dangerous.

o.o.o.o.o

Sai groaned as the fangirls gathered outside the ramen shop, waving at him, eyes sparkling and lips glistening with various colored glosses.

Kankuro eyed them appreciatively, but none caught his attention. A certain slender weapons mistress seemed to have ruined him. Shit.

Naruto looked at the girls in awe. "Sai? We need to ask you a question." Kankuro nodded as he tried to count the number of fangirls, but they kept moving around and he had to keep starting over.

Sai groaned. "Sure, but first help me kill off a few of these and hide the bodies so no one will ever know."

Naruto grinned, shaking his head. "How did you get them? I mean, what's your secret?"

The former Root-nin sighed and shrugged. "Hell if I know. First there were just a few, but they were annoying so I put myself on the 'undateable' list and now there are more and more of them. They keep saying things like they'll help me learn about dating, or that they'll be the perfect one to make me 'ready'." He paused. "Kakashi laughed at me and said I couldn't kill them."

"You put YOURSELF on the 'undateable' list?" Naruto's voice rose in sheer incredulity. Then he paused, thinking about it.

Kankuro laughed openly at him. "Forget it, you're_ already_ on the stupid list. It didn't work for you like it is for Sai."

"Yeah." Came the disappointed response. "I guess so."

Suddenly, the fangirls started to scatter. Soon they were gone, only the most brave lingering several yards away. Another scowl from the newcomer had even those hardy souls fleeing.

Anko slid into the ramen stand and glared at the three young men. Kankuro and Naruto got up without speaking a word and let her take her choice of seats. Sai just stared at her.

The spiky-haired jounin ordered her food gruffly, then sat there. Finally even she couldn't take it and she turned to meet Sai's stare head-on.

Kankuro and Naruto watched, amused, as the two just kept staring at each other. Finally Naruto seemed to have a bright idea, he turned to the puppeteer and whispered, "Maybe we should ask Anko for advice."

In a normal tone of voice, the Suna shinobi shook his head grinning. "Only if we want to scare girls away, not _get_ them."

Sai nodded, not taking his eyes off his savior. "How did you do that?"

Anko sneered at him, still not having blinked. "Do what?"

"Get rid of the fluff." Sai quirked his head toward where the crowd of fangirls used to be. "I tried that, they tried to get closer instead."

The kunoichi shrugged. "Hurt a few and they'll go away."

Sai seemed to consider that seriously as Naruto looked on nervously. "Uh, Sai? You can't really do that, you know. Especially to the ones that are civilians."

"Damn." Was all Sai said. Then he looked over at Anko. "Can I hire you to scare some of them away, without actually harming any of them?"

Anko shrugged and nodded toward Ayame. "Pay for my meal and we'll talk."

"KURENAI!"

Everyone turned to stare at a grinning Naruto. Anko looked around and not seeing her friend, narrowed her eyes on the young shinobi.

Naruto just grinned and nudged Kankuro. "We need to go ask Kurenai. She was in a long term relationship, a serious one. She'll know what we need to do."

The puppeteer tried to fit the name with a face and had a vague memory of red eyes and a curvy body. "Sure, whatever." He said, then stopped as he caught the dark haired ramen girl once more covertly watching Naruto. "Oy, but what about Ayame?"

The blond shinobi looked confused and scratched his head. "I just thought we decided to ask Kurenai for advice."

"I am going to find Kurenai. _You're_ going to ask Ayame out on a date." Kankuro stated, pleased to see the girl blush.

"Oi, why would I do that?" Naruto asked, completely oblivious.

Kankuro nearly groaned as he saw the embarrassed look on Ayame's suddenly red and lowered face. Boy, he'd really blown that one. Crap.

But Naruto wasn't done. "Ayame is so cute and sweet she'd never look at me. She's probably got tons of guys coming around and asking her out all the time."

The girl in question whipped her head up with a stunned look on her rather pretty face. Kankuro grinned over at her. "You're going to have to ask him out, sorry, there's no hope for the idiot. You're going to have to save him from himself."

Ayame blushed again as her father laughed and Naruto just looked confused. As the blond looked over at the girl however, his confusion faded into hope. "You'd go out with me?" He asked, almost quietly.

The girl nodded and Naruto started to smile, as she blushed, he started to grin happily.

"Hey!" Anko waved her hand in front of Ayame's eyes. "Can I get my food before you guys leave on your date?"

Ayame's gaze never wavered from Naruto's and Anko sighed as Sai stood and reached over the counter to get the bowl of ramen for her.

o.o.o.o.o

Asami smiled as Hinata let herself into the kitchen. "Ready to try something a bit harder today? I have to admit, your knife skills are even better than mine and I can't wait to see how you …Hinata? Is something wrong?"

"No, oh no!" The girl smiled brightly and hurried over to the counter. "So, something harder than stews today?"

Chouji's mother grinned and handed the girl an apron. "Fish. Everything is depending on the way you cut, so I think this will be an easy lesson for you."

Hinata nodded even as she hid her discomfort. Sasuke was getting to be a problem. At first he'd just been following her, but now he was starting to try and insert his way into her path. Why?

"Now, let's start with sea bream before tackling a larger fish like tuna."

The purple-haired girl nodded, listening even as she wondered what the Uchiha could possibly be up to. Friends? They'd never been friends before, why now was he talking like that now?

"Hinata?"

The kunoichi blushed prettily. "Sorry, I'm just missing Chouji."

Asami sucked in a pleased breath. That was almost a confession. Her eyes sparkled as she turned back to the counter with the fish. She blinked back some moisture in her eyes as she explained the finer points of culinary blade work to the girl she hoped to one day call her daughter.

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai opened her door with a scowl, her toddler on one hip and a dripping spoon in the other.

Who was more surprised, it was hard to say.

Kankuro eyed the kid warily, not being terribly fond of children.

Kurenai eyed the puppeteer warily, not sure what he wanted. "Yes?"

The Sand shinobi pursed his lips and nearly chickened out, but the thought of spending any more time like he'd been doing the last few days kept him from leaving. "I know we're not friends." He started.

She snorted as baby Shunin waved at the newcomer.

"But I need some advice. About girls."

Kurenai couldn't have been more shocked if she'd stuck her finger in Kakashi's chidori. "Girls?"

A slight turn of the eyes, a shifting of his feet, then he met her gaze. "Well, just one girl really."

The kunoichi sighed and stepped aside for the puppeteer to enter her apartment. She watched him as he walked in and sighed. What to do, what to say? Especially after what TenTen had told her. It was in her hands now. Separate the two, or put them back together?

She sighed again as she shut the door. Gai was going to kill her for this, but the longing in TenTen's eyes recalled her own mirrored image when she'd looked in the mirror and had been trying to decide what to do about her feelings for Asuma.

"First of all, you have nothing to worry about."

Kankuro looked up at her, puzzled. "I haven't even told you anything yet."

"You don't have to." Kurenai told him with a sly smile. "I know all and see all." She intoned with a mysterious voice.

The puppeteer's eyes widened, then he sneered. "Right."

"You don't care for sweets, but you do like red bean paste in your pancakes. You were born left-handed, but have worked hard to be ambidextrous. And …wait, there's an image of a stuffed rabbit. It was missing an ear and wearing a yellow hat …"

Kankuro's eyes went bowl-wide and he sucked in a breath before his eyes narrowed dangerously on her. "You've been talking to TenTen."

Kurenai nodded slowly. "Have a seat."

o.o.o.o.o

**See? Another new chapter! Yeah! One more weekend to get through with the show I'm in, then ...freedom! And updates to more stories, including this one!**

**THANKS for sticking with me despite my schedule. Hope you enjoy.**


	15. Revelations

**CHAPTER 15 disappered from ff(dot)net for whatever reason. It has not reappeared and is not in the back-up portion of ff(dot)net either. I, however, do have a copy saved. I am re-posting this in the hopes it does not get eaten this time. Thank you.**

Kakashi's attention was caught the moment Kurenai walked into the small bar. As far as he knew, she didn't frequent bars. A small stiffening beside him and he knew his companion had noted the odd tension in the genjutsu user's body as well.

The copy-nin raised a hand and indicated that there was a spare seat at their table without even bothering to check with Hana.

To her credit, there was no protest as the young Inuzuka vet scooted over for Kurenai to join them, only a small neutral smile as she cleared out some of the scrolls in front of them.

But Kurenai didn't sit down immediately, she smiled sadly at the two and shook her head. "Don't let me interrupt."

Hana shrugged. "We're just going over the yearly physicals for his nin-dogs. Kakashi makes sure they are well groomed and cared for, so it's a short meeting." She explained truthfully.

The silver-haired shinobi shrugged. "Actually, they mostly take care of themselves."

"Still, I'll just sit over …" Kurenai didn't get a chance to make an excuse to leave before Kakashi pinned her with a stare from his one visible eye. "Nothing's wrong." She said quickly, too quickly.

Hana didn't know the genjutsu jounin half as well as Kakashi did and thought it might be a good time to slip away, allow the two friends to talk. "We can finish this later." She offered, looking back and forth between the two.

"Fine." Kakashi said and Hana started to stand, until Kurenai's hand on her arm stopped her.

"Stay. I'm leaving." Kurenai said quietly, though not to Hana. Her red eyes were solely upon Kakashi.

But the copy-nin didn't acknowledge her statement, instead he poured her a cup of tea and sat it down in front of the empty chair. "I thought we were beyond _that_ look."

Kurenai sighed and sat down, knowing she'd never elude this particular friend. "I am, I mean …I was …oh shit. Kakashi, I miss him."

Hana nodded. No name needed to be said, they all knew she was speaking of her husband, who'd died too soon and before seeing his son born. Asuma.

"Anything in particular bring this on?" Kakashi asked, not letting worry or concern cloud his voice, knowing she wouldn't appreciate that.

The pretty genjutsu specialist shrugged and sipped her tea. "Young love is blooming in the village."

Hana couldn't help the smirk on her face. "Kiba is …" She laughed, shaking her head. "He's actually paying attention to his clothes and his hair these days. He's still the same boy, but …now it _matters_. Mother was surprised at first, then thrilled."

Kurenai sighed and gave a weak grin. "Tsunade's betting they'll break up soon. She thinks Sakura and Kiba are too volatile together and that they won't last. I hear it was a decent sized bet too."

Kakashi grinned as Hana gave an outright bark of a laugh. "I'll tell Mother to start preparing the wedding contracts then. Tsunade never wins a bet!"

The copy-nin watched Kurenai closely. "All three of your former-students are now in relationships, some which look extremely serious. Hiashi looks positively smug these days and Choza, well, he's always happy, but now he almost beams."

"That's not the problem." Kurenai sighed and finished her tea. "I'm thrilled for all of them. Even Shino seems happy these days, and that Sand kunoichi? The Kazekage has sent a proposal for Temari to teach at the Konoha Academy this year."

Hana's eyes widened at that bit of news. "Wow."

Kakashi nodded sagely. "Serious stuff indeed. I can see why it might be a bit … unsettling for you."

Of all the reactions he or Hana might have expected, Kurenai's sudden giggling wasn't it. They glanced at each other, both lost as they shrugged at each other and just waited for the explanation.

The genjutsu user pulled herself together and shook her head. "Gai asked me to speak with TenTen." She paused as she saw she had their attention. "The look of confusion, want, fear, and utter inability to face reality on her face mirrored my own back when I was trying to come to a decision about Asuma. When we first started seeing each other."

Kakashi shrugged it off. "Girl's get crushes." He said.

Hana shook her head, getting it before the infamous copy-nin did. "She's that far gone?"

Kurenai nodded quietly. "I talked with her at length, I assure you. See, she'd been angry with the Hyuuga boy for taking her for granted. Then she fell into seeing the Sand puppeteer by accident and had been enjoying herself. Then Neji grabbed her in the marketplace and kissed her."

"I heard about that." Hana nodded.

Kakashi sighed. "Who hasn't heard about that? I'm only sorry I missed it."

The genjutsu user nodded at them both. "That kiss changed everything apparently."

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto stood on the rooftop, frowning. He had been racing across the village to meet up with Ayame. Actually, he was early, but he didn't want to chance being late. Not today. He still couldn't believe that she was interested in him! A grin spread across his face as he thought of the pretty brunette.

But that grin faded as he watched what had stopped him in the first place.

Uchiha Sasuke.

The blond shinobi sighed uncertainly as he saw his former teammate place himself strategically in front of a certain young woman. Chouji's woman.

"Shit, shit, shit!" Naruto snarled as his eyes narrowed on the duo. Chouji was a friend. Hinata was a friend. But Sasuke …Sasuke had been his main rival and best friend, and even his betrayal hadn't killed those feelings.

Now Sasuke was looking for a wife. But his reasons weren't romantic and his stalking of another friend was …untenable.

Naruto had been tempted to stay out of it entirely, but as he watched Hinata's body language, he knew he couldn't stay on the sidelines. She wasn't interested in the Uchiha, that was clear to anyone watching, except maybe Sasuke.

For days now, every time she'd run across him she'd been coolly polite. Nothing more. But Sasuke wasn't giving up, and Naruto knew him well enough to know that the guy never gave up. You just had to visit Itachi's grave to realize that.

So. How to interfere without alienating ANY of his friendships? He watched Hinata pick her way around Sasuke to continue on her way home. He also clearly read the Uchiha's mounting frustration in _his_ body language.

Naruto raced off to meet up with Ayame for their movie date even as his mind raced in plan after plan, searching for one that would work.

Unnoticed by nearly everyone, Raido quirked his eyebrow at Genma and gave a short jerk of his head toward where Naruto had been standing. Genma nodded and grinned around his senbon.

"Think he'll interfere?" Raido asked hopefully, feeling hamstrung by his orders not to impede Sasuke's courting in the village.

Genma shrugged. "He's Naruto."

Raido nodded, appeased. Of course the blond shinobi would involve himself. Suddenly the special jounin grinned. "This ought to be fun."

"Yep." Genma laughed as Aoba chuckled from where he was listening in as well.

o.o.o.o.o

"Fun. She said you'd be fun." Kankuro whimpered as he eyed the crying toddler. "Trade advice on TenTen for some hours babysitting? Sounded like a good deal at the time."

Shunin's wailing increased in volume and intensity. So did Kankuro's headache.

o.o.o.o.o

"Then what did you say to her?" Hana asked intently.

Kurenai shrugged. "Well, it wasn't like I could tell her what to decide. I just … I told her about how it was …after I heard Asuma wasn't coming back."

Hana sucked in a harsh breath as Kakashi nodded quietly.

"Then I told her that she needed to make a decision one way or the other, and she needed to do it today. That wasted time with someone you cared about could never be regained." Kurenai paused, taking a calming breath. "I thought I shouldn't say anything that would make her lean toward either guy, neutral and all that."

"But?" Kakashi blinked, afraid he knew what was coming.

The genjutsu user sighed deeply and blushed just a bit. "Once I started talking about Asuma, it was hard to stop. Anyway, I told her if she walked away from something wonderful over small problems, she'd always regret it."

"And that's neutral?" Hana's voice rose a bit.

Kurenai shrugged. "What can I say? I saw myself in her shoes and neutral was suddenly the last thing on my mind."

The copy-nin nodded and finished off the last of the tea, signaling for a fresh pot to the waitress. "So. She's going to speak with him today?"

"Yes." Kurenai slumped a bit. "That's what she said."

o.o.o.o.o

"I need you to go on a family mission for me."

Neji stiffened. It wasn't the wording or the gruff manner he objected to, it was the hint of smug sympathy in Hiashi's voice. His uncle had not told him 'I told you so' in reference to TenTen, but it was there …beneath the surface.

"Of course."

Hiashi grunted and nodded, outlining what he needed to have accomplished on this mission for the Hyuuga clan. It was a simple message delivery, but with highly sensitive material. Still, it wouldn't take him more than a day.

A servant knocked on the door, interrupting. Hiashi looked up with a frown. The servant bowed. "There's a visitor for young Master Neji."

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke would have denied the charge, if anyone had dared make it. He was NOT pouting, no matter what it looked like.

"Problems?" A laughing voice mocked him.

Sasuke ignored his jounin guards and silently drank his tea without any change in his expression. Still, on the inside, he was getting a bit …worried.

Hinata wasn't responding. And as much as he hated to admit it, in this arena, he was more clueless than Naruto. Sasuke had always worked to _avoid_ the fangirl attention. Working to GET it was a different kettle of fish altogether.

"Oh yeah, he's got a problem." A second voice answered the first one. "She's not interested."

Sasuke didn't have to look to recognize Genma's voice. They'd been needling him for a few days now. And he would continue to ignore them. Still, were they right? Hinata wasn't acting like a girl intrigued with him. He'd stood in her path and waited for her to approach him, but she hadn't. Not like Ino or Sakura had back in their school days.

Then he remembered that Hinata had always been the shy type around men. So he'd done the unthinkable and had approached her. Still nothing.

Drinking his tea, his mind wandered, looking for a strategic answer to his dilemma. He remembered how Naruto had been on a quest to get advice on women. Briefly, Sasuke even considered going to the loud-mouth blond and asking what he'd discovered.

But as quickly as he'd thought of that, he'd tossed away that idea. Too embarrassing. So. What next?

o.o.o.o.o

Neji blinked and shook his head, unable to fathom what he'd just heard. And who he'd heard it from. "Care to run that by me again?"

The blond shook his head. "No time, I've got to go meet my date."

Neji shook his head, sure he must be hallucinating. "Sasuke is stalking my cousin and you have a DATE?" He wasn't sure which tidbit was most unbelievable.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro stood in the doorway, looking like hell warmed over. TenTen smiled wanly at him. "Are you going to let me in?" She asked almost shyly.

The puppeteer nodded, stepping back even as Shunin bit him on the ear trying to get attention. Kankuro winced, but didn't take his eyes off TenTen. "What …oh, hey … uhm …Kurenai isn't here right now." He said, his dark eyes eating up the sight of her even though he was sure she wasn't there to see him.

She looked at him with her melting dark eyes and blew his world away. "I know."

o.o.o.o.o

"Tell me again why I can't kick the Uchiha out of the village? Or even just let my uncle know about this?" Neji sputtered. "He'll be out of Konoha so fast his head will swim. With blood."

Naruto sighed. "I told you in confidence so you can give Hinata a heads up. And keep an eye on the situation and all. But Sasuke is looking for a wife, he's not trying to do anything really reprehensible."

"She's in love with someone else." Neji growled, his pale eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yeah well, things happen. People break up." Naruto said pointedly as Neji sourly caught the reference to himself and TenTen. "But Chouji and Hinata are my friends. Then again, so is Sasuke."

"He's no friend of mine." Neji sneered, then his face smoothed out as he understood what Naruto was trying to tell him. Naruto didn't want to step in-between three friends. And so was trying to protect Hinata without taking this information to Hiashi, or even to Tsunade. The blond didn't want Sasuke thrown out of the village, he just didn't want him breaking up Hinata's relationship either

"Fine." Neji sniffed. "Go on your date. I'll see to Hinata."

o.o.o.o.o

"Thanks." Kankuro sighed as he stepped into the kitchen where TenTen had made him some tea. "Shunin finally fell asleep. I hate kids."

"Really?" TenTen looked up, her eyes wary. "I didn't know that. Seems like I should have known that."

Laughing uneasily Kankuro headed over to the table. "Why would you need to know something like that?" He asked, then sucked in a breath. Only someone interested in long term would want to know information like that. "You broke up with me." He reminded her, his voice gruff. "Not the other way around."

TenTen grimaced, looking toward the door. Chakra strings suddenly wrapped around the knob on the door.

"Don't even think about bolting." He growled. "You seemed ready to talk, finally. You've been ducking me for days and days." His voice softened at her haunted look. "Look, just tell me what I did wrong. I'll fix it, I promise."

"You can't." She whispered.

Kankuro's shoulders slumped a bit at that. "Look, I never thought you kissed Neji. I only asked WHY you let him kiss you. I was angry, I didn't mean I thought badly of you or nothing."

"Anything." TenTen corrected his wording automatically as Kankuro's sneer returned.

"Sure, I don't talk pretty like the Hyuuga. And …well, shit. I'm not pretty like he is." Kankuro's voice dipped into the deep freeze. "I'm rough and I don't have perfect manners and I really fucking don't care about that kind of stuff. So, if that's what you like …." His voice trailed off, anger fading to uncertainty.

TenTen sighed again, then stepped out of the kitchen and toward him, away from the exit. Nervously she put her own tea down on the table and took a seat opposite him. "I thought that's what I liked."

Kankuro fought not to wince at her confession. "You liked him a long time?"

TenTen nodded. "Forever it seems like. I was never a fangirl or anything, we just … we had suitable temperaments and seemed to understand each other. Then we were put on the same team with Gai-sensei and Rock Lee." She grinned the tiniest bit at the memory. "Then it was the two of us bonding together to keep our sanity on that team."

The puppet user swallowed hard as he nodded, not really wanting to hear the affection in her voice. Not for someone else. Not for a pretty-boy like the Hyuuga.

"I love him."

Kankuro nodded. Then he stood. "I see. I …shit, I can't just leave the kid here by himself. Maybe I should …"

"Like I love Gai-sensei and Lee."

His brain stalling, Kankuro stood there feeling like a desert rat seeing snow for the first time. Something pretty, and dangerously lethal. He took a step away and suddenly a weapon was in her hand.

"Leave now and Kurenai will have to clean up the blood from the rug."

Eyes wide, Kankuro nodded as he eyed the sharp weapon with an expert eye. Where she'd been hiding _that_ he just didn't know, but suddenly he was so turned on it was hard to breathe. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She mocked him without even bothering to look at him. "It took me a long time to sort through all this, so you're going to sit down and hear me out."

Anger sparked through the lust and hurt. Kankuro slouched, standing still. "You're in love with someone else."

"No." TenTen sighed. "I love him. But I'm not IN love with him."

His brain ground to a screeching halt as he tried to work through her words. Scratching his head he just stared at her balefully. "Either you love a guy or you don't."

"Men." TenTen wailed softly, then smiled at him. A smile that made his knees go weak. "I can love anyone. I love Lee and Gai and Neji. I love my cousins. I love … this village. I love my friends. But being IN love is different."

"Oh." Kankuro said, crossing his arms because he didn't know what to do with his hands. He hoped she was saying what he was hearing, because if he was wrong, this was going to hurt. A lot. "So you're not IN love with the Hyuuga?"

"I thought I was."

Kankuro sighed and turned toward the couch, throwing himself down with a groan. "I don't get it. And I don't see what this has to do with breaking up with me for getting mad that the jerk grabbed you like that."

TenTen eyed the man lying on the couch, catching her breath at how adorable he looked, even while miserable. "Damn, I missed you."

Kankuro's eyes snapped open as he lifted his head to pin her with his gaze. "That wasn't my fault."

She smiled and nodded sadly. "Yeah, I know. It was mine." TenTen rubbed her stomach nervously before looking away from him. Somehow this would be easier to say without seeing his eyes. "You were supposed to be temporary."

Kankuro growled.

"Three months." She stated firmly. "Really dating and all that, but still, temporary. See, I was mad at Neji. Angry that he'd been taking me for granted for …well, for years now. He was comfortable in the relationship. I wanted …I didn't know what I wanted, I just wanted more."

The growling grew louder.

TenTen ignored him as she continued her confession. "You made me laugh, you made me feel pretty and exciting. You made me burn." She finally glanced over at him. "But I didn't let you go too far, because in the back of my mind I was sure you'd go back to Suna and …and that I'd still be Neji's girl."

The explosion of movement was silent and deadly as he was suddenly across the room and looming in her face. Nose to nose he sneered at her. "Bullshit. When we were together I _guarantee_ you weren't thinking about pretty-boy."

TenTen looked at him, her eyes melting as she reached up to trace the line of his cheekbone. He caught her hand roughly in his own. "Say it."

"I was only thinking about you." She whispered, the sincerity in her eyes making his temper cool slightly. But then she continued, "Then that made me feel guilty, not thinking about Neji. And …I held back, part of me thinking that after three months Neji would have learned his lesson and things would go back to the way they were supposed to be."

Another growl.

"But …"

"But what?" He snapped, his eyes flashing dangerously.

"But then I made a request to the Hokage's office to fill a position in the Suna Academy for a weapons instructor."

Backpedaling a bit, Kankuro gave her some space as he stared at her in shock. "You didn't tell me that."

TenTen blushed beet red. "I …I couldn't believe I'd done that. That wasn't something a girl in love with Neji would do. And I went round and round with it in my mind, changing my mind three dozen times a day."

"Did you withdraw the request?" He whispered hoarsely.

"No." She admitted, her own voice rough with emotion. "No, I didn't."

Kankuro nodded, his rage banking somewhat as he tried to calm his breathing. "Good."

"Then Neji kissed me, and everything changed."

"Shit."

TenTen gave him a weak smile and walked right up to him, awkwardly his arms opened for her as she pressed her head onto his chest.

"I always dreamed Neji would kiss me like that. So boldly, so passionately. Jealous and demanding."

Kankuro felt like maggots were crawling all over his skin, hating every word that she said, but loving the feel of her in his arms. Not sure what to say, he just waited for her to tell him to go.

"Then he did it and I waited, I waited for that rush of heat. That tingling feeling, that blinding need to be held by that someone special."

"I'm not strong enough to hear this." He muttered and tried to push her away, only to find her weapon pressing against the artery in his throat. "Don't do that!" He moaned. "It only makes me want you more."

"Good." She parroted him.

"Good?"

TenTen nodded. Neji kissed me and I waited for it to feel like it does when you kiss me. But it didn't. Then I panicked. Here I was in love with the wrong guy!"

Kankuro's arms spasmed around her. "I …I…In love?"

TenTen blushed and hid her face against his chest. "I never expected that. Not from a name pulled from a teacup. Not with someone from outside Konoha. But …but everything I always wanted to feel, I felt with you and not him."

"Love?"

TenTen punched him, re-starting his brain. "Ouch." He murmured then pulled back to look at her face. "Wait, if that's true …why did you call it off? Why avoid me?"

The kunoichi sighed, her eyes sad. "Everything I'd thought about love was gone. Torn to shreds. Neji's kiss was like kissing a brother, or some other relative. You were suddenly there, in my face, angry and …and I got angry with you. _**You'd**_ done this to me, no …I know it was my fault and I sought you out, but I was mad." She sighed, hugging him closer. "Then I got scared. It was too much, too fast, too intense. You're a lot for a girl to handle you know."

Kankuro sighed and snuggled her closer into his embrace. "Not to argue with you, but no one's ever told me that before. I …I didn't …I've never dated anyone seriously before."

TenTen sighed. "And I didn't know how you felt about me."

"Bullshit." He sneered. "I distinctly remember a lot of kissing and …you HAD to know how I felt about you."

"No." She giggled softly. "I knew you wanted me. Liked being with me. But for how long? I didn't know if you would be upset to learn that I'd requested a position in Suna."

The puppeteer sneered and pulled back to look her in the face. "I was already making plans on how to get you to keep me past the three month mark. Trust me, I wasn't letting go that easily."

It wasn't a declaration of love, but she figured she'd put him through enough for the last few days. She'd wait. And judging by the tender way he was holding her, and the smoking hot look in his eyes, he was happy with her admission.

Long moments passed hotly as lips met, melded and breathing grew more and more difficult. Hands roamed. Clothing loosened.

"MILK!"

TenTen gasped and whirled away from the toddler as she closed her top. Kankuro blinked, stunned at the interruption. Finally he turned murderous eyes on Kurenai's young son.

"MILK!" Shunin demanded imperiously, ignoring the death glare completely.

Kankuro sighed. "I hate kids."

TenTen giggled and decided now wasn't the time to try and change his mind on that particular subject. But, in her mind's eye, a miniature version of Kankuro holding a brown stuffed rabbit with a yellow hat made her smile giddily. Maybe one day.

o.o.o.o.o


	16. Morning Sunshine

Dawn crept slowly and brilliantly over the landscape. The gorgeous winter light that didn't bring as much heat as promised for such a bright light slid across the large window and fell across her face.

Shino watched with something akin to awe as the colors of the dawn lit Temari's sleeping face. His arm had long since fallen asleep, much later than his date had, for that matter. But moving had never entered his mind, not for a single moment.

It was probably the encroaching light of the dawn that finally woke her, the animation of her personality chasing away the slumber as the peacefulness of sleep gave way at last. Teal blue-green eyes blinked foggily, then focused. On him.

"SHINO!" The blond yelped, sitting bolt upright on the couch in the Aburame den. She looked around in a slight panic. "It's morning!"

"Um." Shino nodded as he rolled his numb arm painfully. "Yes it is." The kikai bugs had kept the blood flowing and the nerves from being too compressed. Still, it was starting to hurt.

Temari saw the slight tightening around his mouth, and as angry as she was, withdrew her fist before taking a swing. "Why didn't you wake me up?" She growled menacingly. They'd been talking late into the evening after supper. Now it was already dawn!

"I didn't want to." Was his simple reply, his dark chocolate eyes watching her, his usual sunglasses on the table. "I liked watching you sleep."

The blond kunoichi snarled a bit as she stood, smoothing out the wrinkles in her outfit. "You're family will think I'm …oh shit, what will my brothers think?"

"Do you care?" Shino looked up, genuinely surprised. From what he knew of her, the opinions of others just didn't carry that much weight in her decisions.

Temari paused, considering the question. "No, not really. But I don't want Gaara huffy or upset, or he might change his mind about me st ….oh."

His dark eyes sharpened as Shino looked up at her. "About you …what?"

A slight sound in the hallway saved her, and it was with both relief and nervousness she saw the door to the den slide open. Shibi looked surprised to see them. Temari decided not to fight the moment, raised her chin, plastered a big smile on her face, and greeted him formally.

Shibi watched with a blank expression, but behind his own sunglasses, he was both amused and pleased. Obviously the duo had fallen asleep on the couch, and from the rumpled clothes that were NOT askew, he would not have to chastise his son on his behavior.

"A little early to visit, yes?" Shibi asked, ignoring the fact that Temari had been wearing the exact same outfit to supper last night.

"We were going to go out for breakfast." Shino said, reaching for his own sunglasses as Temari just stood there, not sure what to say.

Shibi grunted and nodded at the two as they slipped from the room. Finally alone, he let his lips curve into a smile. He decided not to tell his wife, lest she get the wrong impression, but for his own part he was quite pleased.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino didn't like getting up this early, not when she wasn't on a mission. Still, it was a mission, kind of. Okay, not really. Locking her family's door she turned and gave an 'eep' of surprise to see Gaara standing there, right in front of her.

"I …I thought your meeting for this morning was cancelled?" Ino asked, hoping she'd not messed up the schedule.

Gaara gave a brief nod, his eyes taking in every detail of how she looked in the morning light. The more he got to know her, the prettier she got. He wondered why that was.

"Magnolia." 

Ino paused, still half-awake. "Wait, give me a moment." She yawned, shaking her head. "So is the meeting back on?"

"No." Gaara said quietly. "But I was up and thought, I thought you might have some free time."

Ino stopped, her eyes widening in pleasure. She walked into his personal space, thrilled to feel the sand armor was not surrounding him. She leaned in and smelled the clean scent of a freshly showered Gaara. Ino sighed with a smile and rested her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, since you said you had paperwork to focus on I promised to help decorate for the Winter Festival."

Disappointed, Gaara nodded, stepping back but not letting her go entirely. Her hand rested in his as she smiled at him. "So, you don't know the meaning of magnolia flowers?" He asked.

Ino's gaze sharpened as her mind raced. She knew a lot of flower meanings, but hardly all of them. Her mother was much better at this than she was. Still …there was something tickling the back of her memory. "Sweetness?"

Gaara nodded and quoted from the book he'd been reading diligently. "Sweetness, beauty and love of nature." His jade-pale eyes watched her, telling her some of how he felt without actual words. "You."

Ino nearly melted, a little uneasy under the intensity of the red-head's gaze. "Mistletoe."

"I don't know that one." He said slowly.

"Yes you do. Come with me today." Ino said, not bothering to wonder what the other women would think about the Kazekage of Suna helping to hang winter garlands and lanterns for the festival. To her surprise, he agreed without a qualm.

They walked in companionable silence through the village, hands still interlocked. In his mind he tried to remember all the meanings of the flowers he'd learned so far. Mistletoe wasn't one of them.

They were approaching a group of women in the marketplace when he finally shrugged. "All I can think of with mistletoe is that tradition of kissing someone during the holidays."

Ino sounded smug as her eyes twinkled at him. "It means to surmount difficulties, affection, and …"

Affection? Gaara felt his stomach clench slightly, he'd hoped it meant more than mere affection. He was fond of many things. Ino wasn't one of them, what he felt for her was more than mere affection.

"And it means, kiss me." She teased him.

"Oh." He breathed out in wonder, then without warning, pulled her to the side and around a small alleyway. They were more or less private back here. He pushed Ino against the wall and leaned into her.

Her smile faded as their lips met and clung. Long moments passed before they could speak again. Ino sighed happily, twirling her fingers in his hair. "You know, I've just gained a new respect for mistletoe."

Gaara nearly purred as he nodded in agreement even as he leaned in for another long kiss.

o.o.o.o.o

Pebbles against her window woke Sakura, who was not the nicest person in the mornings.

Grouchy, hair sticking up, she opened her window and started to yell before she saw Kiba and Akamaru smirking up at her. "Come out for a walk with us."

"It's freaking dawn!" Sakura snarled and slammed her window shut.

Pebbles hit the glass once more, stopping her before she made it back to her bed.

"WHAT?" She yelled as she opened the window once again.

"I'll buy you breakfast." Kiba pleaded while Akamura whined.

"My mother makes a good breakfast, I'll eat here! MUCH LATER!" Sakura slammed the window shut once more.

More pebbles followed, 'plinking' against the glass annoyingly.

"I'm trying to sleep!" She yelled once she'd opened the window again, only to be struck in the forehead by a late pebble. Red faced, she glared down at an amused Kiba.

"I'll kiss you senseless." He promised almost quietly.

Pausing, Sakura stared down at him taking in the maddening, yet sexy look of him. Finally she groaned. "Let me shower first, then I'll be right down." She closed her window, shaking her head at the thought of her annoying boyfriend and how only he could get her up this early and get away with it.

Down below, Akamaru gave a bark of triumph as Kiba sighed happily.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata chewed her bottom lip uncertainly. Neji's note had told her to stay in today, or at least until he got back from the family mission Hiashi had sent him on. He'd warned her that Uchiha Sasuke was stalking her.

A light sniff showed what she thought of that. Like she hadn't noticed Sasuke being around every time she turned around. In fact, staying in today sounded good. Except …except she had plans to meet Chouji's mother early for a trip to the fresh fish market.

Now. How to stay out of Sasuke's way and still make her date with Asami?

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru sighed. "Your grin gets bigger the closer we get to Konoha."

Chouji just shrugged as they flew through the tree tops. "Can you blame me?"

"Yes, yes I can." Shikamaru muttered, making his friend laugh. "All I hear is how perfect Hinata is and …"

"She's amazing." The Akamichi heir's eyes twinkled. "You're just jealous that I have a girl and you lost your two."

"Bite your tongue!" Shikamaru groaned. "I've never been happier. Well, except when you won't shut up about Hinata."

"Which is always." Chouji said, not looking hurt at all by his friend's words.

The shadow-nin nodded. "Exactly." He sighed as the two shinobi caught sight of the Konoha gates. "Think Kurenai is upset that she couldn't go with us?"

Chouji shrugged. "She was probably more upset that her babysitter came down with pneumonia. Besides, it was a nothing mission, boring guard duty for a boring man with no real enemies. We were there for show and you know it."

Shikamaru nodded as he rolled his eyes. "He paid well though."

"Did I tell you what I'm getting Hinata for the Winter Festival?"

"ARGH!"

o.o.o.o.o

"You look fine." Shino sighed at what he knew was a lost cause.

Temari shot him a look, her teal-eyes flashing with annoyance. "It's not about how I look, I don't want to _smell_. Just let me wash up and we'll head out to breakfast."

"Yeah Shino, you need to be more supportive."

Both Temari and Shino stiffened, then relaxed as they saw Kiba and Sakura walking by with Akamaru beside them. "We're going out for breakfast too, wanna join?"

Temari gave a forced smile to Sakura, whose eyes grew bigger as they noted that the Sand kunoichi looked rumpled. One eyebrow rose in question, two snapped together in a 'don't ask' kind of manner.

Ignoring the look Temari shot her, Sakura latched onto the other girl's arm as she raced up to the apartment door. "We won't be long!" She cooed at the guys, then she grinned at Temari and motioned for her to open the door.

Giving in, Temari sighed and opened the apartment door. "Okay fine, but be quiet. Kankuro hasn't been sleeping well and I don't want to wake him if he's managed to fall asleep."

Sakura made a zipping motion across her lips, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Are you sure you just don't want him to catch you slipping in …past dawn? Remember, we have a rule, no sex for the first three months!" She whispered.

"I'm not the one breaking the rules!" Temari hissed back as they two girls slipped into her room. "TenTen is the one who broke up with Kankuro for no good reason before the three month mark. Yell at her!"

The blond turned to get Sakura's response, only to find the pink-haired kunoichi was staring at the wall. Temari frowned as she caught Sakura's expression of surprise. Looking at the wall, she shrugged and turned to head into the bathroom. The wall was bare except for a framed print and ….she stopped cold. Whipping around, her teal eyes grew wide as saucers. She pointed to the wall.

Sakura nodded and mouthed 'Kankuro's room?'

Temari nodded silently even though they could easily read the chakra signs.

By mutual accord the two girls tiptoed out of Temari's room and looked into the next room. Or tried to anyway, the door was closed. Sakura looked disappointed, but Temari just grinned, knocked really, really loud and swept right into the room.

Kankuro sat straight up in bed, looking shocked, his hair tousled and his chest bare. A large quilt covered the rest of the bed. Sakura's eyes got wider. Temari's grin grew more evil. "Sleeping better, baby brother?"

He nodded mutely, giving her a dark glare that portended nothing good for her.

"Good." Temari turned around as if to leave. "You know you shouldn't leave you're dirty laundry out for just anyone to pick up. It's not like we have a maid." She swept up the clothing on the floor and ran from the room.

Sakura squeaked in embarrassment and gave Kankuro a half-way apologetic look and took off after Temari.

"SHIT!" Kankuro's bellow followed the girls out of the apartment.

Kiba and Shino looked up in surprise. "Wow, that was fast." The dog-nin said, stunned as Sakura grabbed his arm and fairly pulled him down the street. "Hey!"

Shino looked at Temari even as he kept pace with her fairly running after the other couple. "You didn't change?"

Temari shook her head, pursing her lips together to keep from laughing.

Shino looked down at the clothing in her arms. "Those aren't yours."

Temari shook her head again.

Kiba looked back at them, suspicious. He too looked at the familiar looking clothing Temari carried. "You've been sharing clothes with TenTen? Raiding her closet?"

"Yes!" Temari said, choking on her laugher as she and Sakura fell on each other in a fit of the giggles. "You …you …you could say that!"

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke eyed the bundled up Hinata and sighed. It wasn't that cold out, not yet anyway, though at this time of year the temperature could change fast.

He stepped up to her and fell into step beside her. She ignored him completely.

"Hinata?" Sasuke sighed. "I …just stop a moment." He paused, then sighed again. "Please?" He said, as if the word physically hurt to say.

A muffled sound, but nothing else. And she didn't stop.

Sasuke put his hand on her shoulder and she tensed. He bit his tongue and let her go, frightening a rabbit like Hinata was never a good idea. If she ran into her rabbit warren called the Hyuuga compound he'd have even more trouble getting close to her.

"Look, stop. I just want to talk."

At that, she stopped, but her face was still hidden beneath her cloak.

He looked at her, trying to see beneath the hood of her cloak, but she was hiding from him. "I'm not wanting to frighten you. I just …I just want to ask you to the Winter Festival."

The cloaked figure shook her head.

"Why?" He asked bluntly. "You're going out with Chouji? He's not back from his mission yet, and you know as well as I do that missions don't always end on time. Just, just let me escort you to the festival, not as a date. As a friend." He hoped that sounded sincere, he'd been working on it all night.

She shook her head and started walking again. He reached out, she speeded up. His hand closed on her cloak and the hood fell back. 

Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

Hanabi laughed outright at him. So did the watching jounin.

Hinata, on the other hand, was racing across the rooftops of Konoha as she went to meet up with Chouji's mother.

o.o.o.o.o

"I'LL KILL THEM BOTH!" TenTen screeched.

Kankuro winced and raided his sister's travel bags for something that would suit. He looked over at her, his eyes melting in appreciation. "I don't know, you look pretty damned good wrapped up in my sheets."

"After them, I'll kill you for that remark." She threatened coldly, pushing back the long tangle of her hair, making him sigh happily at the sight. "Stop that."

"Can't help it." He gave her a fatuous grin. "You're adorable."

She attacked, but instead of him, there was a 'poof' and she was left holding a log of wood. TenTen sighed, her temper settling a bit. "Is this our log?"

"More or less." He hedged warily from the corner of the room.

TenTen frowned as she felt something odd, she turned the log around and saw …. "You carved this?" She asked in awe.

Kankuro nodded, giving her a carefully blank look. "I …after you broke it off with me I wasn't sleeping well. So I worked on that instead."

A mist formed in her eyes as she trailed her fingers softly over the carving of a couple holding hands. She took in the delicate curve of the girl's back, and the tender way he reached for her. Her vision blurred a bit as a tear dropped onto the carving.

"Whoa! It's not supposed to be sad." Kankuro said, sounding unsure.

TenTen put the log carefully down and ran into his arms, with a sob she wrapped herself around him. Suddenly she was kissing his face and he dropped his chin slightly and their lips met. Sparks flew, and suddenly finding something to wear was no longer important.

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi stared at Sasuke after he finished explaining how he'd pined after her sister all these years he was away. How, with his fangirls around, he'd never felt comfortable approaching Hinata back in their genin days. 

She cooed and made sympathetic noises. He asked for her advice on how to get Hinata to listen to him.

The younger Hyuuga sister looked appropriately impressed that the scion of the Uchiha wanted to get closer to Hinata. She told him that her sister loved poetry, especially the works of the Zen artists. Hanabi then explained that Hinata also loved frilly knick-knacks and collected music boxes with unicorns.

Sasuke left feeling like he'd finally caught a break.

Hanabi sighed theatrically and got up to return home. Wait until she told Hinata. Or better yet, hold off telling Hinata so that she could savor the look on Sasuke's face when he realized he'd been had by a mere genin.

The jerk.

o.o.o.o.o

**Shorter than I'd intended, sorry! Hope you enjoyed. No, this will not go into the "M" rating arena. As always, reviews are nice and thank you for reading this far!**


	17. The NEW, new BINGO book

"You got it?" Hissed a voice as the owner of the voice peeked around the corner.

"Oh yeah." The other voice hissed back, one hand clenched around the items in question.

"It's time for payback."

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru yawned as he and Chouji left the Hokage tower. "We had to wait longer to get in to see Tsunade-sama than it took to actually give the mission report. Not that it amounted to much."

Chouji nodded, his stomach letting him know that it was nearing lunch time. But …there were other, more pressing concerns. "Kotetsu told me Hinata's not out on a mission, so I'm going to go find her."

The shadow-nin laughed and clapped his friend on the back. "You won't have to go far." He jerked his chin toward the edge of the open plaza area. Hinata stood there watching them, an arrested look on her face.

Chouji sighed and smiled.

Hinata sighed and smiled.

Shikamaru grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes.

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai was heading for the market, it seems her darling Shunin had developed an aversion to the very same foods he had adored yesterday and she needed something different. Asuma had never been a picky eater, and neither was she, so where was the toddler picking up this behavior? One day he ate all his broccoli, and hers as well. The next day he spit it out and refused to even look at the leafy green vegetable without shouting "yuck!"

"Ohayo!"

Looking up, the genjutsu specialist smiled at young Inuzuka Hana and her mother. "Tsume, Hana, hello!" She looked down at the grocery filled arms of the two with a surprised expression. "You're …cooking?"

Tsume scowled. "I _can_ cook you know."

"Could of fooled me." Hana muttered and when her mother glared at her, she just grinned wider. "We're having the Haruno's over for dinner."

Kurenai tried to keep the pleased look off her face, but was failing. She loved the fact her team was dating now, and seriously so it seemed. Family dinners?

Tsume's scowl intensified as she shoved her share of the groceries at Hana. "Just for that, you're cooking for them!" She huffed off, leaving a laughing pair of kunoichi.

"I'd feel sorry for you, but I'm pretty sure she'd have used any excuse to get you to cook this dinner." Kurenai took some of the groceries from the younger kunoichi.

"Oh, I've only been waiting for it all day. I'm only surprised it took this long." Hana admitted. "I think she's actually liking the idea. Not sure she's completely sold on Sakura, but Kiba is and that's good enough for now."

"What's wrong with Sakura?" Kurenai asked, curious. The girl had changed and grown a lot since her genin days. Thank goodness.

"Mother's still worried the girl's hung up on the Uchiha." Hana shrugged. "Kiba says no, it's all good. I think this dinner will help though, get the two of them more familiar with each other."

"Your mother can be very intimidating." Kurenai said as the two started back toward the Inuzuka family compound by unspoken accord.

Hana whistled under her breath and jerked her head to one side. "My mother's not the only one who can be intimidating."

The genjutsu specialist peeked at where Hana was indicating, then her eyes widened. "He doesn't look …intimidated."

"No. No, he doesn't." Hana turned toward the odd duo and Kurenai fell into step behind her.

o.o.o.o.o

"Are you going to show me what you bought?"

Sasuke looked down at Hanabi, his expression giving away nothing. "What? You didn't see what I picked out while you were following me?"

Hanabi shrugged off the comment, a bit embarrassed that he'd noticed her. She'd been suppressing her chakra like her sensei had been teaching her. How'd he notice she was following him? "I forgot to tell you what colors Hinata prefers. For the music boxes." She told him, lying through her teeth.

"The unicorn music box?" Sasuke nodded and swept one hand toward a nearby café. "It's cold, it's lunchtime, and there's no sign of Hinata. Might as well get in good with you so you can put in a good word for me. Give me some time, and you'll be my new baby sister."

"And clan leader." Hanabi sighed happily, an evil glint in her eye as she entered and chose a table. She didn't even blink an eye as three jounin followed them inside.

Sasuke looked at them, shaking his head. "It's cold, why don't you have all five guards come in for some tea?"

Genma shrugged, taking the next table. "You can sense where they are, and you're a good enough ninja to know that we would never commit everyone to one place." Aoba and Raido nodded as they ordered tea. "We get to come in and warm up, because we outrank the other two. Now, show us all the pretty knick-knack. Unicorns, right?"

Sasuke ignored their grins and chuckles and went ahead and ordered tea for he and Hanabi. He calmly put a shopping bag on the table. "Tell me if I picked the right color unicorn."

With an ill-suppressed eagerness, the young genin reached for the package and unwrapped it. Catching her breath as she looked up at Sasuke in surprise.

The Uchiha leaned forward and traced a finger down the elegant and fragile wine goblets. "What made you think I'd fall for that? Unicorns? Zen poets?"

Hanabi shrugged, reluctantly putting down the beautiful set of goblets. "You looked so pleased, like I'd given you exactly the information you needed." She tried not to pout over being found out.

"You did." He smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. "I took everything you told me, and did the opposite."

Hanabi's eyes narrowed on him dangerously. He met her glare with one of his own. She sighed, gave up and looked away. "So. We're both liars."

"Oh?"

Hanabi shook her head mulishly. "You have not been pining for Hinata for years. So. What's the REAL reason you want my sister?"

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji and Hinata approached each other, with Shikamaru walking along beside his friend. The twosome stopped in front of each other, both just looking, staring into each other's eyes.

Shikamaru sighed and rocked back on his feet, his shoulders slouched and his hands buried in his pockets. "Hi Hinata, Hi Shikamaru. You well? Yes, you? Thanks for asking."

"Hello Shikamaru." Hinata said softly, but without moving her eyes from Chouji's melting gaze.

Chouji grinned and leaned in and put his palms on the balls of her shoulders. He pulled as she leaned in, her hands on his chest. He placed his forehead against Hinata's and just stood there, breathing in the scent of her. "I missed you." He admitted roughly.

"I missed you." She said plaintively, her voice feather light and caressing.

Shikamaru's eyebrows winged up. Boy, he'd known his friends were smitten, but _damn_. "Well, I'll be off now."

Chouji kissed the tip of Hinata's nose, making her giggle, then kissed her properly. Which is, it wasn't proper at all.

Shikamaru stopped and looked around making sure they weren't being observed. "Hey, hey, public place man." He shifted from foot to foot, wishing he were somewhere else. "Troublesome." He muttered.

o.o.o.o.o

Anko blinked murderously up at the two kunoichi grinning down at her. Beside her, Sai just watched, silent.

"So." Hana grinned. "Dating long?"

Kurenai shifted slightly into a more defensive position as she watched Anko's eyes go stone cold.

"We're not dating." Sai said without any inflection or tic of emotion.

"What he said." Anko said, pulling back from the edge of violence. "That thing? We're not doing that."

Ignoring the danger, and ready to take off at a seconds notice, Hana just grinned wider. "So. Ignoring the fact that this is the third or fourth time I've seen you dining together means …"

"Nothing." Anko intoned darkly.

Kurenai caught the slight shift in Anko's gaze as she spoke, and her interest went from casual to intense. "Oh? Dating _doesn't_ mean seeing each other almost every day, eating out together all the time, sitting far too close together?"

Anko shifted subtly away from Sai, who frowned at her. She snarled. "We're not dating." She stated again.

Sai's face looked puzzled, as if he didn't get it. Then again, he probably didn't. "But we're having sex."

Each kunoichi had a different reaction to that statement, ranging from horror to delight and awe.

Anko sighed, rubbing her face. "Sex doesn't equal dating."

Sai nodded though he still looked confused, as if trying to understand. "We're going to the movies tonight."

Hana and Kurenai bit their tongues to keep from laughing at the sour expression on Anko's face.

"That's because it's a blood and guts adventure ride of a movie and I like the director." Anko asserted.

"Oh? Who's the director?" Kurenai asked with false innocence and ignoring the flare of temper from the spiky-haired jounin.

Both Kurenai and Hana watched with glee as Anko's face turned red.

"Sato, the elder one." Sai said, apparently oblivious to the undercurrents. Anko gave him a hot look of pleasure.

"Well, ladies, if you'll excuse us." Anko started.

"But you're food hasn't arrived yet." Hana said smoothly, batting her eyelashes.

Sai reached for the menu. "Actually, we haven't even ordered yet." He opened the booklet, then paused as his eyes widened fractionally. "Actually, I don't think this is the menu."

All three women looked confused as he handed the booklet to Anko. She flipped through it, and started to laugh. "Whoever drew this is a talentless hack."

Sai nodded as Kurenai and Hana exchanged glances. "What is it?" The genjutsu user asked finally.

Anko shrugged and handed her the booklet. "Another BINGO book."

"What?" Kurenai said even as she flipped open the book, with Hana leaning over one shoulder to look. Hinata's face stared up at her. Or, she thought it was Hinata.

"The drawing is atrocious." Hana said, puzzled. "But the lilac eyes and long dark hair, is that supposed to be the Hyuuga girl?"

Kurenai nodded. "Undateable for reasons of being a mouse." She said, then flipped the page. "Oh, that's not nice."

Hana giggled at the sight of a figure that could be almost anyone, though the pink hair gave away who it was supposed to be. "Her chest is NOT that flat. And her ass is not a huge bubble."

Kurenai laughed. "I thought that was her weapon pouch drawn strangely, guess not. Undateable for reasons of being mean and ignoring suitors."

Hana scratched her head and looked at Anko, who shrugged. "Lee and Naruto?"

"Maybe." Kurenai allowed, then turned the page and sucked in a breath.

Hana's eyes went big. "Has Ino seen this?"

"Judging from the silence and relative peace of the village, I'd say not." Kurenai shook her head. "And someone had better hope she doesn't."

o.o.o.o.o

"I am not a mouse!" Hinata avowed.

Chouji wrapped his arm around her, drawing her delicious heat closer to him. He looked over at Shikamaru who was staring down at the BINGO book with a scowl.

"Forget that. Did you see what they did to Sakura?" The shadow-nin sighed and pushed away the book as their check arrived, not even bothering to look at any of the other pages. "Why did I agree to go to lunch with you two? If I'd gone home, I wouldn't have seen this garbage."

"No, you're not a mouse." Chouji sighed and leaned into kiss her again. He pulled back with a teasing grin. "But I love it when you wriggle your nose."

"I do NOT." Hinata stated firmly, her eyes snapping with anger. Then catching sight of the teasing grin, she sighed and nestled closer into Chouji's arms. Looking at the small grill on the table she reached for the last piece of meat, just as Chouji did as well.

Shikamaru stilled, watching intensely as Hinata pulled her hand back and Chouji speared the last piece of meat …and slid it onto her plate. The shadow-nin held his breath as she sweetly thanked Chouji and nibbled on the morsel.

Raising his brows, Shikamaru caught Chouji's eye. The bigger shinobi shook his head slightly in warning not to say anything.

Sitting back, the shadow-nin stared at the couple acting so sweet it was making his teeth ache. Still. Chouji had given Hinata the last piece of meat, _the last bite_. This wasn't a crush, this was serious. He was about to make a smart-ass comment sure to ruin the mood, just for his own peace of mind, when someone slid into the booth with them.

Neji smiled wanly at them as both shinobi stared at him, non-plussed. Hinata's face went beet red, drawing their attention away from her cousin.

"Don't." Hinata warned urgently, not wanting her cousin to spill the beans now that he was back from his family 'mission'.

Neji shook his head. "Sorry. Did you guys know Sasuke is stalking Hinata?"

Hinata sighed as Chouji stiffened and Shikamaru's gaze went dangerously cold. "Do tell."

o.o.o.o.o

"My butt is NOT that big!" Sakura wailed as Kiba clutched his stomach laughing. She hit him over the head with the booklet. "It's not funny. KIBA! IT'S NOT FUNNY!"

Which only sent Kiba into further peals of laughter as he vainly attempted to fend off her strikes. The spine of the booklet broke as she hit him yet again, sending pages everywhere in the small restaurant. "They s... said you were mean and ignored guys too! Doesn't that matter?"

"Did you see how they drew my butt!" Sakura screeched, tears of rage gathering in her green eyes.

Shino sighed and bent over to pick up one of the offending pages with his thumb and forefinger. "They drew TenTen like a stick figure, with no curves at all. Said she's undateable because she's not really a girl, but a guy instead."

Pausing, Sakura fumed as she panted. "Really? I didn't get that far in the book."

Temari nodded, looking appalled as she ripped up another sheet. "You both got off easy compared to Ino."

"What did it say about Ino?" Kiba asked, trying to regain control as he caught his breath. "Undateable for being a chatterbox?"

"No." Temari said, looking far too dour for the moment. "But they better hope Ino gets to them before Gaara does."

Sakura caught her breath as Kiba finally realized Temari wasn't kidding. "That bad?" He asked.

"Worse." Shino sighed. He called for the bill, not even bothering to split it up. "We have to hurry and stop her from seeing this. We do not need bloodshed right before the festival."

Sakura nodded as they got up, she was still angry, but finally thinking again. "What did it say about you?" She asked Temari.

The blond kunoichi stopped, staring at the other girl as if she finally realized something important. "Oh shit." She breathed. "They wouldn't be that stupid, would they?"

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi stared at Sasuke in total disbelief. "End the Uchiha line?"

Sasuke nodded, sitting back and waiting for the reaction. How the younger sister responded would tell him a lot about how Hinata might respond. That was the only reason he'd been so open with the young genin.

The young Hyuuga heir thought about it a long moment, then shook her head. "And you think the Byakugan is a stronger genetic trait than the Sharingan?"

"I've been over that. It's not a stronger ability, but Oro…. Er, records I have had access to have proven that it's the stronger gene and would be considered dominant." Sasuke said, stumbling a bit on saying Orochimaru's name. He kept forgetting that here in Konoha, that name wasn't exactly a welcome one.

He watched as Hanabi tried to digest all this new information, glancing over at the door to the café as the small bell rang. He stiffened slightly as he saw a familiar blond enter. His eyes widened as he recognized the red-head beside her. But what was really amazing, was the laughter on her face and the relaxed, almost happy look on his.

Suddenly, his attention was brought back to Hanabi as she grabbed some booklet off the table and tried to hit him with it. He pulled back just fractionally enough for it to miss him, but it did make a satisfying 'thunk' sound on the table.

"You're an idiot." She told him.

"Why?" He sneered. "Because I know what I want and I'm going after it? Because she's seeing Akamichi? Big deal. She'll be mine sooner than you think."

Hanabi matched his sneer, making him blink. "Because you don't need her."

Stunned, Sasuke sat back and watched her. Genma and the others leaned forward, wanting to catch every word.

o.o.o.o.o

"Everyone's staring." Ino muttered as she slid into her seat. She'd noticed Sasuke right away, but was ignoring him. He'd run off with the criminal responsible for the Third Hokage's death. She had nothing for him.

Gaara settled down next to her, closer than strictly necessary, but he liked being near her. "You're beautiful. They're staring because of that."

She stopped and stared at him. "Did you …compliment me?"

He blinked and nodded. "Maybe …I need to see a medic?"

Ino smiled and nudged him with her shoulder. "A compliment and a joke in the space of a minute. Maybe I need to check and see if you're really you and not an imposter."

Before Gaara could ask what she meant by that, she'd leaned in and stolen a quick kiss. "No." She purred. "It's you."

It took a second, but when he was able to speak he looked at her bright eyes. "That wasn't a good test, you might want to recheck your findings."

Ino's eyes sparkled as she leaned in to give him another kiss.

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi sighed, as if they were all idiots. "Any Hyuuga marrying outside the village would have their abilities sealed. They couldn't pass on the Byakugan even if they wanted to do so."

Sasuke shook his head. "I told you. Hiashi promised if I married a Hyuuga that he wouldn't insist on that as long as we live within a certain distance of Konoha." He deliberately didn't mention that Hanabi's father had also explicitly said Hinata was off limits as far as marriage eligibility.

The young genin, slapped the booklet on the table once more. "Idiot. You don't get it, do you? If the seal is enough to block the STRONGER genetic code of the Hyuuga, why wouldn't it work on the Sharingan?"

Genma and Raido sucked in shocked breaths, stunned that they hadn't considered that first. Aoba was a step behind them, still looking puzzled.

Sasuke looked like someone had struck him in the stomach. His eyes were wide and appalled that he hadn't caught on to this point himself.

Hanabi sat back smugly, looking far too pleased with herself. "No need chasing a girl not interested in you. Bargain with my father and I'm sure you can strike a deal where he'll have the seal put on you, keeping you from passing along the Sharingan. Then you can marry anyone you like without having to stalk my sister." She gave him a sharp look. "That is, if you were telling the truth about your reasons for stalking my sister."

o.o.o.o.o

"It's not been that bad." Hinata interjected softly. "Nothing I couldn't handle."

Chouji looked ….Hinata sighed and placed her hand on his forearm. "Chouji. I'm fine."

Neji looked at Chouji. Chouji looked at Shikamaru. Shikamaru looked at Neji. They all nodded slowly at each other. Communicating without words.

Hinata sighed and wondered how to try and defuse the situation. Why didn't men listen? Was it because she WAS a mouse? No. No, no, no. Hinata's eyes narrowed. Was she going to sit back and let this happen? No. Hyuuga Hinata was not a mouse, and she was going to prove it.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino caught the disparaging look from the waitress, though she shrugged it off. The older woman had probably seen her and Gaara kissing and disapproved. Old bat.

The waitress hit a booklet sitting on their table, probably a list of specials. But the 'bump' shoved the book right into Ino's space. Frowning, she looked at it. It didn't have the name of the restaurant on it. What was it?

Slowly, Ino reached to open the book as Gaara gave his order to the waitress. Oh my! Ino shook her head sadly. An imitation BINGO book, obviously designed to get the guys to not date the girls. Ino winced as she turned the page to see Sakura's picture. Her friend was going to go ballistic over this.

"Gaara? You see this?" Ino tapped the picture of her pink-haired friend. "Like something like this would keep Kiba from dating her. Idiots."

"You did it to the guys." Gaara pointed out.

"I guess fair is …SON OF A BITCH!" Ino's voice rose as she turned the page.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are nice, of course. Happy Easter for those who celebrate it. Happy March Madness if you watch. I know I promised a male version of the BINGO book. This isn't it. Sorry, this just worked into the story better.**


	18. Death Becomes Them

Ino slammed the booklet shut just as Gaara peered over her shoulder. She was turning alarmingly red in the face and her breathing was suddenly labored.

"What's wrong?" He asked, not liking the look of fright and hurt in her wide green eyes.

"N …nothing!" Ino exclaimed as she tried to slide out of the seat. "Breakfast isn't sitting well, if you'll excuse me." With that hastily devised, and very thin excuse, she fled into the ladies room. The one room a girl could get some privacy.

The door slammed open, revealing a very calm and yet dangerous looking Gaara.

"This is the ladies room!" Ino said, her voice quivering a bit as she pointed a shaky hand at the symbol on the door. "Go away."

Two screams from the stalls startled them both. "Go away!" An elderly woman's voice screeched from the farthest bathroom stall. "Men aren't allowed in here!"

Gaara's eyes never left Ino and she had a feeling he would stay right there until she talked to him. Giving in, she stomped out of the bathroom and in what she hoped was a casual move tossed the offensive booklet in the trash.

When the red-head didn't comment, she gave him a weak smile as she passed him on the way out of the ladies room. His sand shut the door with a loud 'bang', making her jump and spin to face him. He just stared at her.

"Look, Gaara. I've got a really bad headache all of a sudden, and I …I want to go home." Ino tried again, feeling shaky and getting angry. How dare Shikamaru do this to her? She was going to find him and ….

Gaara held up a booklet and her breath caught. She cast a frantic look toward the bathroom door. "No, you threw _that_ one out. _This_ one was on the next table. There's one on every table."

Ino's heart seized. "EVERY TABLE??" She screeched, making each and every person within the sound of her voice wince with pain.

o.o.o.o.o

"I do not understand the need to rush like this. It's not as if Gaara will leave the village before the festival." Lee looked at Matsuri in confusion, even as he raced along at her side following the trail of the Kazekage.

Matsuri clutched a copy of the horrid booklet to her chest, her heart pounding so fast she wasn't sure it wouldn't jump clear of her. Then again, she mused darkly, if that happened she'd be dead already and wouldn't have to worry about Gaara killing her.

"Why won't you let me look at the book that has you so upset?" Lee tried again. "The bloom of living color has faded from your cheeks and this worries me."

Matsuri snorted. Lee was a gem and a wonder, but couldn't he just call her 'pale' without wrapping it up in a ton of words? Then again, if he did that he wouldn't be Lee. Sighing unhappily, she stopped and handed him the book. One look at each page had him blushing and had his eyes flashing angrily. Without discussing it, he handed her the book back and they took off once more to find Gaara.

That's what she liked about Lee. Not only was her honorable and admirable, but he had her back. You never had to wonder about it. She shot him a look. She owed Ino and the others for shoving her out of her fangirl ways, and into the path of someone really special. And she intended to repay that debt, she just hoped Gaara didn't kill her before she had a chance to explain.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke wasn't curious about what was going on between his former fangirl and the current Kazekage. Or at least that's what he told himself. He forced his attention from them and back onto the young genin who was gloating at him.

"Hanabi. That sounds all well and good, but it's not a viable solution." He informed her coldly.

Aoba shook his head from the jounin table. "Why not? It sounded good from where I'm sitting." Raido reluctantly nodded that he agreed, while Genma sat silently, withholding judgement.

Sasuke glared at Aoba, who merely shrugged at him. "It does sound like it _could _work." The older jounin said with an almost apologetic look.

"It would." Hanabi snapped her fingers with the certainty of youth.

The only living Uchiha sighed and stood as if to leave. "What do you know of it? Your cousin Neji holds the seal, but no one even questions that he will be able to pass along the family bloodline limit. And furthermore …"

His words were lost as Hanabi bounced a balled up napkin off his head. "Jerk. That's a Hyuuga CURSE seal, not a marriage seal. You have a curse seal too, right? You should know the difference."

Sasuke stiffened, affronted.

Hanabi sneered. "Oh please. Orochimaru's curse seals are taught in the Academy now, ever since …. Well, since _some idiot_ betrayed us and left the village." Her voice and face left no doubt just whom she was speaking of.

Genma pursed his lips to keep from laughing at the former rogue ninja's plight. "Perhaps you should further explain the differences in these seals?" He choked out as Sasuke fumed. Still, the Uchiha sat back down ready to listen. Genma nodded, pleased that the guy picked practicality over pride. It didn't make him like Sasuke any more, but it didn't drop him any farther in esteem either.

o.o.o.o.o

"Don't." Ino pleaded, her hands itching to grab the booklet from Gaara's hands.

He stilled, watching her face. As Kazekage he was used to getting his own way, well hell, he'd been doing that even before attaining that lofty office. Still …Ino's eyes looked so desperate. And moist. A feeling of panic roiled in the pit of his belly, wanting to do anything to keep a single tear from falling. But could he just let this go?

Seeing his hesitation, Ino swallowed her pride. "Please Gaara, don't." She paused, her mind racing to find something in their own personal language that could help. "Allspice!" She sputtered, relieved to have thought of something.

Gaara's fingers, playing with the edge of the booklet stilled. "Allspice?" He asked, then his mind raced. "That's a spice, it has a flower?"

"It does!" Ino avowed, standing up straight. "It means compassion."

"Does it?" Gaara mused, looking back down to the booklet and then back up at her pleading face. "Bittersweet."

The blond kunoichi shook her head. "No, allspice tastes more like …"

"The flower, the bittersweet." Gaara told her, his face a stoic mask while inside he was wondering if he was about to turn a corner and find he'd lost her entirely. But …he couldn't just let this go. The pain in her face and the misery in her eyes would never allow him to just let this go by.

Ino shook her head, unable to focus on what he was saying. "Bittersweet?"

Gaara nodded, his gaze locked on hers as he opened the booklet. "It means truth."

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke was amazed. Hanabi was right after all. This marriage seal that the Hyuuga family had developed might actually be just what he needed after all. A slight shift in the currents in the room warned him before anything else.

Looking up, he caught the puzzled expressions of the jounin guards. Hanabi looked oblivious, then again, she was only a genin. Suddenly, she stilled, like a rabbit suddenly aware of danger. He nodded slowly.

Genma gestured with a flick of his eyes.

Sasuke took Hanabi by the arm and was out the back door of the restaurant before the jounin could move.

Genma scowled and silently motioned for his fellow jounin to rescue the other patrons scattered throughout the restaurant. Civilian lives needed to be removed from danger before they confronted the threat.

Raido held open the door as Aoba shoved the last of the staff and patrons from the establishment, all done without allowing any of them to scream. There would be some complaints about rough handling, but ….Tsunade would understand.

When someone as powerful as the Kazekage unleashed, nothing they had could hold him back. Even now small particles of sand where whipping through the building. These particles were tiny, but the force at which they were being flung about was tremendous. Chakra was building within the area at a highly alarming rate.

Finally, the area clear, Genma and the other two jounin stood and looked at where Ino and Gaara were standing. Just how bad was this about to get? Would they have to try and rescue her? What was the problem?

o.o.o.o.o

The picture was the best of the group, which made it all the worse. More time had been put into this one portrait than any of the others. Which only made it seem dirty and vile.

Ino was posed on the page, nude with super-large breasts and making come-hither eyes at a group of men. Underneath the picture, it simply read "whore".

"He's a dead man." Gaara's growl was guttural and cruel sounding, even to his own ears. But he couldn't help it. Deep within him was a craving to spill the blood of the man who'd done this. A howling swirled up inside him, drowning out everything, or nearly so.

"I'm sorry Kazekage-sama. If you have a problem with a Konoha native, then I would pursue the proper channels through the Hokage's office." Aoba hoped he sounded braver than he felt at the moment. Genma only groaned and readied himself to fight.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari swallowed hard as she felt the maelstrom of her baby brother's chakra. This wasn't going to be pretty, she only hoped the alliance between the Sand and the Leaf continued to stand when all was said and done. And the blood was mopped up.

Shino and Kiba shared a glance between them, then focused on the small café that seemed to be the eye of the storm.

The tinkling of glass warned them to leap aside as three bleeding bodies came flying through to land on the street.

Sakura caught her breath as she ran forward, ignoring Kiba's bark of warning. "They live." She breathed, relieved. Right now there was too much blood to see who they were, other than Leaf jounin.

Everyone looked up as sand flowed menacingly out of the now open window, flowing like a pool of lava toward them. Shino tried to hold Temari back, but she broke free and ran forward. "GAARA!"

The red-head's pale-jade eyes swiveled in her direction, making her flinch. She hadn't seen him this angry since the removal of the demon Shukaku.

Ino, sensing a pause, rushed up behind him.

Sakura and Kiba yelled at her to stay back. Bugs formed in front of Shino, ready to try and shield the blond. But all that proved unnecessary as Ino wrapped her arms around Gaara from behind and …he didn't attack her.

Drawing in a shaky breath, Temari took another step forward. "Gaara?"

"Don't kill him." Ino whispered.

"DON'T." Gaara's voice was whipcord sharp. "Don't _you _dare plead for his life. He doesn't deserve it, nor does he deserve you. If you want him you can have him, but …"

"I don't want him. But I don't want _this _either."

Shino paused, trying to find a way to diffuse this situation somehow. Kiba just looked ready to fight while Sakura was busy mending the unconscious jounin. Actually, she was surprised they weren't more hurt. Most of the blood seemed to come from small cuts caused by the broken glass.

Temari shook her head, catching on. "Shikamaru didn't do this."

Gaara's eyes narrowed on her, making her tremble slightly.

"Gaara, it wasn't him. Look." The blond held out the book for her brother.

"I've seen it." He snarled, murder still riding in his blood.

Ino stilled though, her eyes seeking out Temari. "What do you mean it isn't him? He's the only one who we _really_ humiliated. The only one …."

"I'm not in the book."

Silence fell over them all as both Gaara and Ino realized they hadn't looked at the book past the page calling her a 'whore'. "But …there were two more pages." Ino sputtered. "One for you and one for TenTen. Right?"

Shino shook, backing her up as he stepped up beside Temari, not willing to let her stand in danger on her own. "The last page is TenTen, but on the page following that horrid picture, is a list of the 'men' Ino has under her spell."

"WHAT?" Ino called, no longer hurt but furious. "WHAT THE HELL?"

Sakura helped Genma sit up, wiping away the worst of the blood. He groaned, but otherwise appeared unhurt. Shakily he started to climb to his feet.

"Do you know you've seduced not only Shikamaru, but Konohamaru?" Shino said, flipping the book open to the list. "And Genma here too." He waved an arm at the suddenly frozen jounin.

"Uh." Genma muttered, standing quickly in case he needed to defend himself. "I think I would remember something like that. Never happened."

"But …but …Konohamaru is a CHILD." Ino wailed.

Sakura shook her head. "He's a genin, not a child." She pointed out.

"That's NOT helping." Temari hissed at the medical nin as she tended the other two jounin, who were wisely staying out of the conversation.

"Yes it is." Sakura said calmly, as Temari suddenly became aware that Gaara's temper was fading. Though as his ire cooled, Ino's was rising.

"And did you know the only reason you passed the Academy courses was that you seduced your instructor?" Shino continued in a bland voice.

"IRUKA-SENSAI??" Ino screeched, looking like the top of her head was going to explode.

Gaara patted her shoulder awkwardly, his sand calming as he in turn tried to calm her down.

"Naruto, Lee, Sasuke, Neji, and even Sakura here have fallen prey to your easy charms."

The pink-haired girl stilled, her eyes going wide as she looked over at her long-time friend and some-time rival. "That's not funny."

Kiba quirked a smile, only Akamaru knocking him down kept him from laughing outright. And probably saved his life from the outraged duo of pink and blond. "What ELSE does that fucking book say?" They both shouted at the same time.

"Gaara is not listed." Shino pointed out solemnly. "I'm not mentioned, though I'm not quite sure why since Kiba is." He sounded a bit disappointed, earning a glare from Temari. "And Kankuro is too."

Gaara stilled as the blond looked ready to explode.

"Which all means, that Shikamaru isn't behind this." Shino concluded.

Gaara sighed, shaking his head. "Damn. Him I could have killed."

Ino grabbed her hair and pulled, screaming out for all she was worth. A moment later, breathing hard, she glared at Shino. "So smart boy. Who do I get to kill?"

"You wouldn't let me kill Shikamaru, but you'll kill someone else?" Gaara said, no tone or inflection in his voice to give away his hurt. Still, Ino sensed it behind his words.

She softened enough to whisper to him. "He's my teammate, and I still think of him as a friend so I'm really glad he isn't behind this. Besides, we _did_ publicly humiliate him. He had a right to retaliate. No one else does though."

Gaara nodded though he didn't agree with her reasoning. Still, he was relieved to sense no lingering sense of desire when she spoke of her teammate and former boyfriend.

Sakura opened her mouth to speak up, only to have Kiba step on her foot. Akamaru nodded proudly at his master. She glared at him, but Kiba shook his head at her.

"So I don't get to kill him?" Gaara called to his sister, sounding much more in control though still upset.

Genma sighed in relief. Things were calming down with a minimal amount of damage. One café destroyed? Pfft. Big deal.

"I'll let you kill whoever DID do this." Ino promised her red-head blithely. "If I don't kill him first."

Genma sighed, shaking his head. Calm? Why had he thought things might be calming down? Now he had TWO murderous ninja to contend with.

"Yeah, but who is it?" Sakura asked, moving away from Kiba before he could stop her from speaking up. "Who is this jerk?!"

"I'm not in the book." Temari sighed, as if that statement explained everything.

"So?" The pink-haired girl shrugged.

"Yes, what about that? That doesn't make any sense." Gaara asked, wrapping one arm around Ino and felt relieved that she stepped into the embrace, rather than out of it. He'd been worried he'd scared her off when he'd gotten so angry. But she wasn't running. His arm tightened around her, and she melded into his side as if she belonged there.

Shino ticked off the points on his fingers. "This book is mean to Sakura, TenTen, and Hinata. But downright vicious to Ino. It's aimed directly at her. Next. Temari isn't in the book, as if the author doesn't want either Gaara or Temari mad at them."

"Nonsense." Gaara snarled, sounding haughty without even trying. "My anger is a given considering the contents." Ino almost purred as he petted her absently, she didn't think he even realized he was trying to comfort her. Warmth enveloped her, stealing some of her anger, but not all. Definitely not all.

"No." Shino insisted. "But the question is, who thinks that doing this to Ino would NOT make you angry? Or that you would not feel the need to defend her? Who thinks that this will _turn you away_ from her?"

"Turn Gaara away?" Ino sputtered, stiffening in his arms, the earlier warmth disappearing into the chill of the thought. He tightened his hold on her, as if to say he wasn't going anywhere.

"Who thinks calling TenTen a boy will make Kankuro drop her? Who thinks saying Sakura's ass is fat will, OUCH! Sakura, let me finish!" Shino complained, rubbing his suddenly numb arm. "That's going to bruise."

Kiba stepped into the breech, finally clicking to what Shino was saying though. "Someone actually thought that stupid picture would make me break up with Sakura? Are you nuts, or are they?"

"_They_ is right." Temari sighed, kicking a piece of the broken window frame out of her way. "And they might be nuts after all. I mean, they put Kankuro on that list. Like Ino's had time or opportunity for that. Not to mention that Kankuro would never do that to Gaara. But then they leave me out of the picture book, because they don't want to make me angry? Stupid."

"Who fears Temari, but not Ino?" Kiba sighed, shaking his head. "No one in Konoha would think Ino wasn't dangerous in her own right."

"Thank you." Ino sniffed.

Sakura groaned, catching on quicker than her boyfriend. "You said it, no one in Konoha. I should have realized. Damn it! Of course they put Kankuro on the list. What better way to get rid of a guy than to think his girl is sneaking around with his own brother?"

Gaara's eyes widened a bit. "They want me to break up with Ino and kill my own brother. That's …."

"Stupid." Temari sighed. "And yep, that's them. And no, I don't think that's all of it. Sure they want Ino out of the picture, but they didn't think you'd care so much. Probably thought you'd choose your brother over Ino and all that crap."

"Them, WHO?" Ino yelled, getting frustrated as Gaara ignored his sister's remark about him _caring_. He hadn't been that obvious about it, had he? That's when he finally realized he was petting Ino's back and the long tumble of her pony tail. His eyes narrowed on his sister, but she only grinned at him.

"What kind of guy is so dumb?" Sakura grumbled.

"It's not a guy." Ino sighed as she finally got it all of a sudden, like something had gone 'click' in her mind. "Of course it's not a guy. How …I was so hurt and angry I completely missed it! All those pictures, they point out the flaws that girls see in each other. Not guys."

"Huh?" Kiba looked confused.

Sakura sighed and looked up at him. "Do you think my butt is huge and my chest is flat?"

"That's a trick question and I'm not falling for it!" The Inuzuka looked suddenly wary. Sakura frowned and growled at him almost as well as Akamaru could have done. "Fine. I like your butt. A lot actually. And the …yeah, your curves are just right." He flushed a bit as he admitted that out loud. It stung that when he looked up Shino was smirking at him.

"And I doubt Kankuro looks at TenTen and thinks she looks like a boy." Temari shot a knowing look at Sakura who blushed as she remembered having fled with the weapons kunoichi's clothes just that morning. No. She and Sakura both knew only too well that Kankuro didn't see much wrong with TenTen's figure.

"I guess calling Hinata a mouse doesn't count as much of an insult, nor would it make Chouji even blink about dropping her. He'd only defend her." Kiba nodded at Sakura.

"Hinata might disagree about it not being an insult, I certainly wouldn't stand for it." Temari mused. "But the point is that these insults are all catty and juvenile and …"

"Girly." Kiba finished, only to have every kunoichi eye turn and glare at him. "Hey!" He protested. "You were thinking it!"

"Gaara's fangirls?" Sakura sighed, forgiving Kiba with a wink and a smile. "Are they that dumb?"

"Two are." Temari sighed. "The third? I don't know."

"Makes sense though." Shino caught Temari's hand and pulled her in closer to him.

"Can we kill them?" Sakura asked plainly.

"Yes." Gaara said.

"No." Ino sighed, then leaned into Gaara with a defeated air. "No, we can't."

"Sure I can." Gaara looked puzzled. "Simple, clean, quick. They won't suffer. Much. Unless you want them to suffer? It's negotiable." He offered quickly, seeing the sour look on Ino's face.

She gave a wry grin and a sigh. "Much as I'd like to take you up on that, I can't."

"Why not?" Kiba asked, earning a look from Shino. "Hey, I'm not saying they need to die, only asking why Ino thinks they shouldn't. Just a moment ago, she was calling for blood." He shrugged, as if to say the inner workings of a female mind was a mystery to him.

"They're fangirls." Ino sighed, looking over at Sakura who grimaced and nodded.

The pink-haired medical nin stood, brushing off her outfit. "Yeah."

Shino shook his head. "Even as fangirls you two never took things _this_ far."

"But would we have, if the circumstances had been different?" Ino rolled her shoulders wearily. "I don't know."

"Me neither." Sakura mumbled, looking abashed. "I'd like to think not."

"So." Gaara sighed. "I can't kill them?"

Ino chuckled dryly. "No."

"What can I do then?" The Kazekage asked, feeling badly that his fangirls had hurt her so deeply.

"Pay for the damage?" Ino shrugged and nodded toward the broken window.

Gaara's lips twitched as he shook his head. "You're ninja broke the window, not I."

"When you threw us through it." Genma muttered, rubbing his head.

"Details." Gaara shrugged and caught Ino's gaze. "Can I hurt them? If I can't kill them, can I hurt them?"

"No." Ino smirked a bit. "That's MY job. I didn't say I was letting them off the hook entirely. And couldn't they be assigned some rotten 'D' ranked stuff? Horrible missions and all filled with all sorts of humiliation and …"

"The sewers always could be scrubbed." Temari mused coldly, an evil grin on her face. "And border patrol. Lots and lots of border patrol. That'll keep them out of your sight." She assured her brother.

"Yeah, but you might want to wait until their injuries heal." Ino said with a deadpan expression.

Sakura grinned and fed her friend the line. "What injuries?" She purred.

"The ones I've yet to inflict." Ino grinned darkly.

o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi sighed and put down the booklet. Gai sighed, shaking his head. "That's just wrong. A flower as lovely and talented as Ino does not need to stoop to such measures to get ahead. Besides, I know for a fact she has not been 'charming' Lee."

"Or Naruto." Kakashi sighed again. "Or Sakura for that matter, though a man might wish otherwise. But only if he gets to watch." Another sigh followed. "Why isn't my name on here? If they're going to make up lies, at least it should be believable. My name should be on here."

Gai shook his head sadly and pointed at a name on the list. "You're there. They just spelled your name wrong. Mine is easier to spell." He smirked.

"That's just _wrong_." Kakashi said sadly.

o.o.o.o.o

Shino and Kiba were helping Aoba and Raido up when everyone suddenly stilled, sensing the approaching chakra.

A pale-faced Matsuri raced toward them, Lee at her side.

"I had NOTHING to do with it!" She said quickly, turning pleading eyes on a stony faced Gaara.

The Kazekage sighed and nodded. "Glad to hear it."

"I didn't know a thing about it!" Matsuri wailed. "Harumi and Suzue have been quiet lately, and …" She went red. "I was glad they'd finally shut up about Ino and Sakura and everything and didn't think they were up to something like this!"

Genma watched, nodding as Gaara forgave Matsuri and led her over to Ino. He looked at Lee and noticed the ninja still looked agitated. "It's cool, Lee. They know your girl had nothing to do with this."

"It's not that!" Lee avowed in his usual loud voice. "It's …well, we would have been here sooner but we sensed a large outpouring of chakra and thought it was Gaara and when we got there we found we'd been mistaken …and oh, it's my fault we were delayed! Whatever will Gai-sensei think of me? We need to get back there and break up that fight, but my lovely Matsuri-blossom told me that if we didn't report to Gaara first, there would be an even BIGGER problem!"

"What fight?" Genma asked, suddenly with a sick feeling in his stomach.

"Sasuke was facing off against …."

That was as far as Lee got before Genma, Raido and Aoba took off without a word. Lee apologized to Matsuri and took off after them.

"Hey!" Sakura protested as the four jounin took off and knocked her flat on her ass. She stood, rubbing the sting as Kiba sauntered up to her. He reached around and pushed her hand away, rubbing her posterior himself.

"Did I tell you how much I like your butt?" He leered at her.

Sakura pushed his hand away with a stern look, but her eyes gave away how much she enjoyed his playfulness. He grinned and sighed as she gave him a lingering look before heading over to Ino.

"Fangirl hunt or do we go help Neji against whatever Sasuke is up to?" Sakura asked the blond. "And don't say you're going after those two alone. Yeah, they called you a bad name. But did you see the drawing of my ass?"

"I'm going too." Gaara said slowly.

Ino shook her head, reaching up to trace the line of his chin. "No. This needs to be fangirl against fangirl. Don't worry, we'll leave them alive. Barely."

Gaara glanced at Sakura who was putting on her fighting gloves and looking determined. Then he looked back at Ino and reluctantly nodded. He leaned in first though, whispering, "Lavender heather."

Ino's smile grew as she nodded her understanding. _Admiration_. She couldn't tell him how relieved she was that he wasn't fighting her on this. Or that he'd believed those lies for even a moment. Or …or _was_ there a way to tell him? She leaned in and kissed his cheek, then whispered, "Angelica."

Gaara's face looked puzzled. Obviously he didn't know the meaning of that flower. She grinned and nodded to him. "Angelica."

With one last lingering look, she grabbed Sakura's hand and dragged her friend away on their search and destroy 'mission'.

Sakura looked puzzled. "Who's Angelica? I thought they were Harumi and Suzue?"

Ino giggled and didn't answer, only wondering how long it would be before Gaara could look up the flower and find out it meant _inspiration?_

Matsuri called out after them and raced to catch up. She wasn't about to be left out of this. Those two twits had made her look bad in front of Gaara, and worse, Lee! She had a score to settle all of her own.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba looked at Shino. Shino looked at Temari. Temari looked at Gaara. Kiba coughed. "So? What now? Do we let them go off on their own, or go to the big fight?"

o.o.o.o.o

**Hey, I didn't leave you with the cliffhanger from the last chapter too long I hope! And I really hope you liked the longer chapter to make up for it! Thanks for reading! Reviews are always welcome.**


	19. Fights and Fangirls

Suzue hung her head down, letting her dark hair swing forward to hide her face. She didn't want to let on that she was watching. Her sister Harumi sighed as she spoke. "That's fifteen that have been thrown in the trash, I don't think it's working."

Suzue shrugged, narrowing her eyes as she looked up just in time to see booklet number sixteen hit the trash can. Still, she didn't want to admit defeat. "As long as the right people see this, that's all that counts. Who cares what these silly Leaf hicks think?"

"Leaf hicks?" A voice asked coldly from behind them, making both girls freeze. "Now, is that any way to treat allies, much less your hosts?"

Harumi squeaked and whirled around, startled. Suzue sighed and pushed her dark hair behind her ears, cutting her hazel eyes toward the newcomer. Seeing the couple, she cocked her head to one side and gave a half-sneer. "You were much meaner to us when we were here for OUR chuunin exam. In fact, you were down right rude."

Anko preened a bit with a hard smile. "Good."

Harumi put a teasing smile on her face, peeking at him through her eyelashes. "So, you're Sai? Right?"

The shinobi in question just stared at her, not answering.

A bit nervous, Harumi giggled and shot her eyes over to Anko. "I heard you could have had the pick of the village, and you settle for ... well, I'm sure she's nice and all."

"No she's not." Sai commented blandly.

"Thank you." Anko smiled brightly and gently nudged her shoulder to his. "It's great to find a guy who really appreciates you don't you girls think? Oh, that's right, you don't have guys like that."

"They don't?" Sai asked Anko.

Suzue stood up from the table, glaring at Anko. "See? Your guy doesn't think we're unattractive."

"Sure I do." Sai responded without changing his expression. "I just want to know how Anko knows you don't have someone to date."

Anko nodded toward the two girls. "That booklet they made? It's merely a desperate attempt to separate the object of their adoration from the girl that he IS interested in. Simple."

"If you say so." Sai nodded. "Emotional entanglements aren't my strongest areas."

Suzue snorted and nudged her sister. "I'd heard Sai was emotionally stunted, but I'd put it down to just rumors. Turns out that he really is."

Harumi nodded as she gave a false look of pity toward Anko. "Is he the best you can do? He's completely and utterly without emotional depth. There's no way he'll ever be truly romantic with you."

"No breakfast in bed." Suzue chimed in.

"No flowers."

"No candy."

"No presents for no reason." Harumi sighed as if sympathetic with Anko's plight.

The spiky-haired jounin only smiled all the bigger. "No inhibitions."

Harumi stopped, blinking. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

"If you don't know, then that really is pitiful." Anko smiled brightly at Sai. "He doesn't cling, he doesn't crowd, and he's brutally honest. And he has absolutely no inhibitions. Perfect."

Sai just looked puzzled.

Anko grinned and grabbed his arm. "In fact, this conversation has got me all hot. Sai? I want you."

"Sex?" His eyes turned hopeful.

"Now." Anko said and dragged him away. "Besides, I can feel Yamanaka fast approaching. We've stalled these twits long enough."

"WHAT?" The two girls shrieked.

o.o.o.o.o

Genma, Raido, and Aoba raced across the rooftops of Konoha. The pressure of growing chakra from the middle of the marketplace was disturbing. Genma's lips tightened as he followed both Lee and the escalating outpouring of chakra. Who was Sasuke fighting? How bad was this ...going ...going ...to ... "Oh shit."

Raido and Aoba stopped along side him as they looked down at the group on the ground facing off. A smile teased Raido's face. "Think he needs our help?"

Aoba looked back toward Sasuke and then over toward his fellow jounin. "Aren't we going to stop this?"

Genma shrugged. "Sure." He said, but didn't move. "Eventually."

Raido's smile grew. "She seems to be holding her own."

Genma nodded as he watched the scene unfold before them.

o.o.o.o.o

The fireball missed Sakura by inches. "Tsk, tsk." She chided. "My genin teammate could do better than that years ago. You're supposed to be chuunin, right?"

"Not fair!" Harumi grumped as she fell into a defensive position across from Ino. "You're both jounin!"

"Fair?" Ino screeched. "You think about fair now? After those lies you spread about me?"

"Are they lies?" Suzue sneered, then ducked quickly as she avoided direct eye contact.

"That's it! You die now!" Sakura growled, flexing her fingers as she called her chakra to her hands.

Matsuri watched, unsure. Sure, she was angry, but things were escalating a bit too much. "Suzue! Harumi! You need to apologize!"

Temari walked up beside her fellow Sand kunoichi, pulling her brother's former student away. "This is their fight."

"They made me look bad in front of Lee!" Matsuri groused, but followed Temari to the sidelines.

Kiba and Shino made room for her, while Gaara just stood there watching the fangirl confrontation, his eyes cold. Kiba looked over at her for a moment. "What kind of jutsu do these girls have?"

"Suzue is air and Harumi is fire." Matsuri said, then winced as she watched a villager throw a bucket of water on his stall to stop the flames from Harumi's last attack. "This is going to get messy." She whispered.

Shino watched a moment, his lips tightening. "Ino and Sakura are dragging this out. They're not really fighting to win. Ino isn't even using her jutsu."

Temari nodded. "This is about retaliation and humiliation, not winning." She said, then grunted in approval as Harumi was knocked back by Sakura, her fall broken by the fish vendor's stall. Fish and ice flew everywhere.

Shino continued to watch for a few moments, then winced as Gaara's fangirls grabbed raw squid and cuttle fish, nailing Ino in the face with it. The resulting screech, he was sure, could probably have been heard as far away as Suna itself.

Gaara winced slightly. He wanted badly to step in and end this ...brawl. But ...if he did, how would Ino react? Unsure, he stood his ground until he saw that the crab Harumi had just thrown had latched onto the front of Sakura's tunic. He fought his smile.

Kiba didn't. The Inuzuka laughed outright, earning a hard glare from his pink-haired girlfriend. Incensed, Sakura grabbed the offending crab and yanked it away. Except the crab didn't let go and her tunic tore, baring a nice swath of creamy skin. Kiba's laughter died as interest lit his eyes. "More!" He called out, then ducked as the crab she threw at him flew over his head.

"End it." Gaara ordered. Then he just stood there as no one obeyed him. He sighed, his sand starting to stir. Temari's hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Don't." Temari warned. "Ino needs this."

"She and Sakura are just toying with them." Gaara pointed out. "It's not a real fight."

"Just wait." Temari promised, patting his shoulder. "If you step in, it'll only make her think you don't trust her to take care of it."

Reluctantly Gaara grunted, though his sand settled back down.

o.o.o.o.o

"I am not a mouse!" Hinata muttered unhappily as she knocked down yet another volley of thrown kunai.

"I never said you were." Sasuke said solemnly from behind her. "And I don't need the protection."

Hinata ignored him as she glared at the Uchiha's attackers.

"Hinata! Let us at him!" Neji yelled, trying once more to penetrate her protective stance. Once again failing. "Damn, you've gotten good at this."

"Yes you have." Sasuke's voice was a caress. Suddenly he stumbled as she spun and knocked him back a half-inch. "Wait, what was that for?"

Chouji's face brightened as he saw Hinata hit Sasuke. "Can we fight him now?"

"No!" Hinata stated emphatically. "This is my business. None of you have a right to interfere. I told you he wasn't bothering me."

"See? No need for this." Sasuke called out to Neji, only to earn a glare from the Hyuuga prodigy.

"Hinata! Get out of our way right now!" He yelled out, only to have his cousin ignore him as she knocked his strikes away. He wasn't fighting full out, not against Hinata, still he'd never seen her move this well before.

Sasuke sighed as he watched Hinata move. "You're so graceful." He whispered. "Beautiful."

Chouji stiffened as he caught Sasuke's words. He'd not been attacking, not with Hinata protecting Sasuke. He didn't want to fight her, he just wanted to get his hands on the jerk behind her.

"I thought we established you have no need to marry my sister in order to achieve your goals!" Hanabi called out gleefully from behind Sasuke. Her voice was much louder than it needed to be, thus making sure that _everyone_ heard her, not just the Uchiha.

"What?" Hinata and Chouji both yelled. Suddenly, Chouji's right arm expanded in size and flew straight at Sasuke. Hinata stepped aside without thought. The punch nailed Sasuke in the chest, forcing out his breath. Hanabi had to leap aside rather than get struck with Sasuke's body.

Chouji smiled at Hinata, grateful she'd let his strike pass. Hinata gave him a shy smile, just as reluctant as he was to square off against each other.

"H... Hinata?" Sasuke fought to recover his breath, though he wasn't really hurt.

"What?" She nibbled on her bottom lip. "I wasn't in time to stop that one."

Sasuke nodded, knowing she was lying. "Right." He sighed. "You're adorable, and smart, and really sexy when you chew on your lip like that."

Hinata stopped chewing her bottom lip, her eyes narrowing dangerously. More kunai flew toward Sasuke, and she spun into the gentle fist fighting style, easily knocking them down.

"Hinata?" Neji protested, almost whining. "Let me at him!"

Hanabi sighed. "Great. I get Sasuke to see that he doesn't NEED to court you, then you have to go and impress him enough to get his attention all on your own. Great job, Sis!"

o.o.o.o.o

Shino winced as he watched Harumi send yet another blast of fire jutsu at Ino. Nothing either fangirl had thrown at the two Leaf kunoichi had landed. Their words on the other hand ...

"Slut!"

Shino grimaced and backed up a step as the splinters of the destroyed table that had once belonged to a fruit vendor flew all over the place.

Kiba grinned as he watched, then hollered with glee as Sakura raced forward, only to slip in the mud that had formed from all the buckets of water people were using to put out the flames from Harumi's attacks. Sakura didn't fall, but her legs were caked in mud up to her knees. He flashed a leer then chuckled, rubbing his hands together.

"You act like you want her to fall in the mud." Shino pointed out drolly.

"Because he's a dog." Temari groused, then glanced down at Kiba's nin-dog. "No offense, Akamaru."

The big nin-dog 'woofed' as if to say he wasn't insulted by the remark.

"Uh oh." Kiba lost his grin as Suzue's air jutsu connected with Harumi's fire jutsu, making the flames grow alarmingly large. "That's too near ...oh crap."

Shino shook his head as garlands for the Winter Festival burst into flames. There was nothing he could do to douse the fire before the garlands crisped and fell in a shower of ashes. Then he pointed toward a desperate shop owner who was frantically aiming a water hose at his store front. The awning was smoking, then a few licks of flames flared up. "He's not going to ...oh, thank you Gaara."

Gaara grunted as sand smothered the flames, the shop owner had a moment to smile before the whole front of the building creaked under the weight of the sand. The man had barely jumped out of the way before the awning, and a good chunk of the store front collapsed.

"That wasn't supposed to happen." Temari whispered as she winced.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke dodged Chouji's expanded fist, only to get nailed by a triple strike from Hinata. Once he climbed back to his feet, he eyed her with appreciation.

Hinata frowned. This wasn't working like she'd hoped. "Why aren't you mad at me?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I like that you're not a mouse. I don't want a wife who can't stand up for herself. I need someone as strong as they are beautiful."

"Oh don't make me sick." Hanabi sighed from her perch beside an irritated Neji.

"You and me both, kid." Neji sighed, resigned to the fact that Hinata would not accept help from him.

Hinata frowned again. Something tickling the back of her mind. Something she'd forgotten. She shook her head and started to step forward, only to find herself unable to move. Hinata closed her eyes in frustration. "Shikamaru."

The shadow nin had slowly closed in on her from the side and had captured her in the shadow of a building. "Neji, Chouji? Go to it."

Sasuke stiffened as Shikamaru started to back up, pulling a reluctant Hinata along with him through his family jutsu.

Chouji stiffened even as Neji grinned and moved to attack Sasuke in earnest, only to draw up short as Hanabi jumped into his path. "Hanabi? Get out of my way! You've been as disgusted by all this as I've been."

"Yep." Hanabi squared off against Neji, who was reluctant to fight the young genin. "But this IS Hinata's fight and she TOLD you she didn't want you involved."

"Let her go, Shikamaru!" Chouji called out to his best friend.

The shadow-nin sighed. "Troublesome. First you want her out of the way so you can fight Sasuke, now you want me to let her go?" He let go of the jutsu, shaking his head.

Chouji sighed and nodded. "Just let her go."

Sasuke grinned. "Wise move, Akamichi. You're not man enough to hold such a prize. Now you might want to back off completely and...Ooof!" He fell under the onslaught of two angry Hyuuga kunoichi.

Neji started grinning, for the first time happy just to sit back and watch.

o.o.o.o.o

Akamaru was covered in mud as he used his front paws to 'throw' goop on the flames threatening the tanner's shop. Kiba was handling a hose with Shino as Gaara was on the other side of the street trying to smother out flames without collapsing any more store fronts. Matsuri was helping man the water buckets.

Temari was using her wind jutsu to keep flames from spreading. She looked over at the fighting quartet. "Ino! Sakura! End this, it's getting out of hand!"

Sakura nodded, but Ino was lost in the moment as her eyes narrowed venomously on a squealing Harumi. Suzue tried to interfere, but was knocked back by the raging blond.

"Ino?" Sakura ran forward, slipping in the mud and falling flat on her face. Groaning, she sat up and ignored Kiba's howl of approval as she climbed back to her feet and ran up and knocked Suzue out with one blow.

"Ouch." Shino winced.

Sakura then turned and grabbed Harumi by her long dark hair and threw her into the side of a wall, the girl crumpled.

Ino growled. "I wasn't done!"

"YES YOU ARE!" The voice thundered from behind them all, making everyone but Gaara wince.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke came up off the ground, slightly bloody and very amused. That is until he fell into a fighting stance before Hanabi and Hinata. The moment he did so, all hell broke loose. Three jounin guards dropped down around him, he froze in place, several kunai pinned his sandals to the ground and a giant fist slammed down on him from above.

A howl from Shikamaru made him smile as the shadow user let him go. "Damn it! I felt that!"

"Sorry Shikamaru!" Everyone yelled out.

"Troublesome." Came the grumbled response. "And painful."

o.o.o.o.o

Ino stalled as she heard Tsunade's shout. Spinning, she slipped. Sakura tried to catch her but both girls slipped in the mud and crashed to the ground.

Akamaru howled as Kiba grinned from ear to ear as he watched the two girls struggle in the mud to regain their feet. He groaned as Ino's hand slipped and tore Sakura's tunic just a little bit more.

Temari looked at Shino and glared until he turned away from the sight and went back to putting out the rest of the flames.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tsunade growled as she stalked in looking around.

Ino tried to wipe the mud from her face, thereby only making it worse as she too looked around. Suddenly she felt sick to her stomach as she realized how much damage had been done.

Shino appeared next to Tsunade and handed her the offensive BINGO book. Shizune and Council Elder Takao looked over her shoulder. Both sucked in harsh breaths as the Hokage flipped through the pages.

"Am I to assume that these two Sand kunoichi are responsible for this nonsense?" Tsunade pinned Sakura and Ino with a glare. Both girls nodded slowly. "And you two, instead of ending this quickly decided to toy with the two chuunin?"

"They're tougher than they look." Sakura tried to form an excuse.

"Uh huh." Tsunade growled low, making Matsuri swallow hard and be glad she'd not been part of this. The Hokage looked down at the two unconscious fangirls. "They put up SUCH a fight. And how did they stop the two of you from using your abilities? Your mind jutsu? Your strength? Or even your genjutsu, Sakura? This is ridiculous!"

"The Winter Festival is ruined!" Wailed an irate Takao. "How dare you two hoydens!"

"Sasuke's fighting someone in that direction." Gaara stepped up and pointed toward the east.

Tsunade sucked in her breath. "We'll discuss this later, Kazekage." She warned, then nodded to Shizune as the two took off toward the other fight.

Elder Takao shook his head at them, what remained of his silver colored hair flying in the breeze. "Now, I feel this should be addressed by the Council itself. It's well known that the Hokage is far too lenient with the two of you, what with being her personal students."

Shino and Kiba stilled, not liking the sound of this. Elder Takao was known as a bitter shinobi who'd never liked the alliance with Suna. They looked over at Gaara, who'd gone still and was glaring at the Konoha elder.

"Yamanaka? Your request to teach at the Suna hospital as part of the exchange?" The Elder looked straight at Gaara. "Is denied."

The Kazekage stiffened and Temari held her breath. "Haruno? You are the one we will be sending to Suna for the time being. Pack for an EXTENDED trip."

Kiba's grin faded completely, Akamaru dropped to his belly, whimpering.

o.o.o.o.o

"I thought you were here to protect me?" Sasuke said as he again dodged Hanabi, only to be nailed by a strike from Chouji. He coughed and hoped that his ribs weren't broken as the Akamichi heir lifted his giant, expanded foot.

Genma shrugged. "We were assigned to make sure you didn't betray the village, or hurt any person of Konoha. Not to protect you from them."

Aoba looked unsure as Raido grinned. "Our orders weren't that specific." He mentioned, wincing as Hinata's fist connected with Sasuke's nose with a loud crunching sound.

Sasuke growled and stepped forward, only to be met by a wall of jounin. Genma grinned. "Our orders were vague. So, we choose to ...interpret them in this manner. Any objections?"

No one spoke up on Sasuke's defense. The Uchiha sighed, though he was irritated, he was glad he wasn't allowed to fight back. He didn't need the village to know that his fight with Itachi had not gone as was thought. Sasuke had fought him and had nearly won when Itachi had proved he had held depths of which Sasuke had had no clue. Still, his brother was very ill and as he'd been ready to strike the death blow, Itachi's heart had given way.

Sasuke still claimed the victory, as he'd outlasted his brother, but only barely. And the fight had allowed what was left of Orochimaru to escape him. He no longer held all those forbidden jutsu. Sasuke was still a force to be reckoned with, but he was still recovering from that devastating fight and he didn't need that to become well known.

If he'd needed to fight them individually, or even in pairs, Sasuke was sure of his eventual victory. But Akamichi, Nara, and three Hyuuga at the same time? He wasn't quite so arrogant to believe such a victory would be automatic, or painless.

"Well, well, well ..."

Everyone froze as Tsunade's voice carried over the area.

The Hokage walked up slowly, her assistant Shizune behind her. Tsunade peered at Sasuke's bloody nose and the way he was breathing. "You might want to have someone look at those ribs." She mentioned casually, then turned to the jounin guards.

Genma stepped forward, moving his senbon from one side of his mouth to the other. "He brought it on himself. Trying to court the Lady Hyuuga against her father's wishes."

Tsunade shook her head sadly at Sasuke. The Uchiha raised his head proudly. "I always get what I want."

A giant fist suddenly knocked him tip over tail and he crashed into the wall behind him.

"Then you must have really wanted that punch." Tsunade stated calmly, with a hint of a smile. "Nice right hook, Akamichi."

"Hinata?" Shizune spoke up. "Do you want Sasuke to court you?"

"No!" She said, hurrying over toward Chouji.

Tsunade sighed heavily and held out a hand to Sasuke, who ignored the offer and climbed to his feet on his own. "Your advances don't seem to be welcome. And I don't foresee Lord Hiashi letting Hinata move from the village."

Sasuke straightened his clothing. "Then I change my mind."

Hinata let out of huff of breath in relief just as Chouji wrapped an arm around her.

"Oh, I still want you Lady Hinata." Sasuke gave her a wry grin and a wink, making her stiffen. "But I no longer want to live outside the village. If I need to win over the Council or every person in Konoha, I will win the bride of my choice."

"Idiot." Hanabi muttered seconds before Tsunade's fist connected with Sasuke's face.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara handed Ino a towel he'd procured from a local shop. He watched as she scraped the worst of the mud from her face. She couldn't meet his eyes. Finally, the silence got to her. "I'm sorry, I screwed it all up."

The red-head just looked at her, his pale-jade eyes watching her every move.

Ino blushed hotly. "I'm not a fangirl, not anymore. I ...I wouldn't have gone to Suna if you didn't want me to go."

Gaara stared at her and reached up to push a stray strand of muddied blond hair out of her face. "Borage."

Ino slumped, her eyes tearing up. "I ...I don't know that one." She muttered. "I can't think right now."

"Courage." He whispered.

Ino nodded and sniffled. "I need courage."

"No." Gaara commented. "You have courage already. Just hang onto it, we'll ..." He paused, struggling over thinking of them as a couple that might last beyond three months. "_We'll _get around this. Tsunade wasn't in on this punishment."

"Thanks." Ino smiled through her misty eyes, leaning her forehead against his.

He paused, unsure how to ask the question burning his tongue. Finally, he just let it come out. "Did you really request to come to Suna?"

Ino's blush heightened as she nodded. "I ...I thought it would be a nice change."

Gaara nodded. "Does that mean I have a chance to outlast three months?"

Ino nodded and Gaara's heart suddenly felt lighter than a feather. A groan at his feet made him frown down at his former fangirls. "They live."

The blond giggled slightly, then nodded. "You sound disappointed." Ino put her arm through his and drew him away from the fallen chuunin kunoichi.

"I am a little." Gaara admitted.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba approached a fuming Sakura carefully. "Do you think ..."

"No!" Sakura snapped. "I'm NOT going to Suna. Not now!"

Kiba nodded. "We'll work on that. What I was going to ask is if you think you might want to change before going to meet my family for dinner?"

The pink-haired kunoichi sucked in a breath and stared at her boyfriend a long moment, before breaking up into laughter. "How ...how do you always know the perfect thing to say?" She asked.

The dog-ninja shrugged. "I don't. I just say what's on my mind." He admitted. Then he sighed. "And right now I'm thinking that I don't want you to go to Suna."

Sakura sobered and nodded. "Let me go take a shower and we'll ...we'll talk about this later. I don't think one council member is enough to make this stick."

"I hope not." Kiba said slowly. Then he quirked a grin at her. "Before you shower? Wanna wrestle?" He asked while waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Sakura groaned, shaking her head in despair as she fought her laughter. "Pervert."

"You bet." Kiba grinned, his fangs flashing.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed. Kankuro and TenTen will be in the next chapter, I promise! And more on Shino and Temari will come up shortly too. Reviews are always welcome. THANKS!**


	20. Batting Clean Up

Kiba ignored the mud covering his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her, offering moral support. She knew he was being serious when his hands didn't wander. With a soft smile, Sakura blew him a kiss. Together they turned to head to her house to clean up before going to his family compound for dinner.

"And just where do you two think you're going?"

Stiffening, Kiba looked up as Shizune returned, standing in their way. Her hands were on her hips and a glare filled her eyes. Beside her, Neji stifled a small smile.

"And you, Yamanaka?" Shizune's voice was cold as ice as Elder Takao stood by, watching with a sour look on his pinched face.

Sakura groaned and held out her arms, showing off how filthy she looked. "I need to clean up."

"Precisely." Shizune nodded. But when Sakura and Kiba would have moved by her, the older kunoichi stepped in their path once more. "So. Go clean up." She said, her voice dripping with disgust as she pointed at the street around them.

Sakura's eyes widened. "But ….but …."

"How childish and stupid!" Shizune ranted, turning her hard glare on both Ino and Sakura, moving back and forth between them. "You let a lie, a lie that few if any put any credence in and what? Destroy the village's Winter Festival?"

Ino felt sick to her stomach as she looked at the damage she'd helped to cause. Damage to the decorations that she herself had helped to hang that very day. Painfully, she swallowed and dropped her eyes as Shizune looked over at her. Fire lit her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Suzue and Harumi will clean this up." Gaara stepped forward, only to be brought up short by a harsh look from Shizune. He stilled. Then his eyes narrowed. He'd faced down worse than this single kunoichi, why should he back down? He opened his mouth to speak, only to stop as Ino shook her head slightly at him. His lips thinned mulishly, but he held silent. Barely.

Shizune sighed and looked at the groaning fangirls from Suna as at least one of them started to come around. "Rest assured, they will help, after medical treatment. But you two I hold to a higher standard. You are kunoichi of the Leaf Village. Jounin. The elite. And you fall prey to pettiness and disregard the safety of the village you have sworn to protect? Or is it just because neither Sakura's house nor Ino's family store are on this street that makes it okay to destroy? Just how shallow are you two?"

Sakura stared at her feet, more ashamed than she'd ever felt in her life. It was all worse because every word rang true. How had they not thought to drag Suzue and Harumi to a training field before pummeling them?

A slight cough interrupted them all. All eyes flew to Shino. He looked at Shizune, unabashed. "Their punishment has already been set. You need not bother." His voice was calm and logical, but baiting nonetheless.

Elder Takao stiffened as Shizune drew up to her full height and all were suddenly reminded that not only was she a caring medic and faithful assistant. She was also a quite dangerous kunoichi all on her own. "Oh? By whom?"

The council elder stammered a moment, but then his voice firmed. "I have already informed the hoydens that Yamanaka will be staying here in Konoha while Haruno will be going to Suna for a lengthy visit. The Hokage can not be trusted to be impartial on …"

"Oh really?" The sarcastic remark stilled them all. "I'll be sure to inform the Hokage, that she is …untrustworthy." The council member opened his mouth, but nothing came out as if he just now realized exactly what he'd said. Silence fell over the group as Shizune thought through the situation. Ino held her breath.

Gaara settled down, recognizing the look in Shizune's eyes. She was torn. One part of her wanted to slap down the offensive council member for overstepping his reach, while another part knew that to do so would cause no end of grief for the Hokage's office. He stood there, waiting to see what she'd do.

"What the hell? Was there a party and no one invited me?"

Sakura spun as she heard Kankuro's voice behind them. The puppet master looked furious and not at all as lighthearted as his words suggested. In his fist was a crumpled up booklet.

Suzue, finally fully awake, groaned with pain as she sat up. Then, catching sight of the sheer anger on Kankuro's face as well as what he was holding, she dropped back down in the mud. Safety before healing, she decided silently.

Temari choked as she caught sight of TenTen just behind her brother. "New look?" She asked blandly.

The weapons kunoichi sneered lightly as she looked around at the destruction. It was minor in comparison to most battles, but then most fights didn't take place inside their own village.

Everyone else glanced at TenTen as well, then stared as their attention was caught off guard. Sakura grinned, as she knew why the other girl was wearing something so …different. Having been party to stealing her clothes, of course!

Kiba grinned and rocked back on his heels. Shino nodded, as if having his suspicions confirmed. Ino just looked confused while Gaara watched with a wide, almost stunned expression.

TenTen tried to wrap her arms around herself, but she couldn't disguise the fact that the dress she wore was made for someone a little taller, and curvier. Temari, to be precise.

Neji froze. He took in the sight of his ex wearing clothes not her own. He peered over at the Suna puppeteer and saw the proprietary way he watched TenTen. It didn't take a genius or a prodigy to 'get' it. The two were a couple. Not just dating, but a real couple. Catching his breath harshly he realized that any chance he'd had to get her back was now most likely lost for good.

"Gaara?" It took three attempts before the red-head registered his brother's voice. Finally he looked over at Kankuro.

The puppeteer held up his fist with the booklet, shaking it. "You know this is nonsense, right?"

Gaara nodded blankly while Kankuro sighed in relief. "I know you'd never betray me like that. Or her." He nodded toward TenTen.

"I never thought you'd think that." Kankuro said, and it was only a shade from being the complete truth. He looked over at the two girls still in the mud. "They live?"

"Unfortunately." Gaara sighed, drawing a grin from Kiba. Which in turn drew a sharp elbow from Sakura.

"Oi! Stop that!" Kiba groused as he rubbed his ribs gingerly.

"Ahem." Everyone stopped and once more turned their attention to Shizune. Who was smiling. Everyone suddenly got a little nervous seeing that smile as it held no humor. "A council member has spoken, and the punishment can not be simply reversed."

Sakura sucked in a shocked breath as Kiba stilled beside her. Gaara's eyes narrowed dangerously.

Elder Takao nodded, smug in his apparent victory.

"However, I'm sure Tsunade will want to bring this up before the _full council _before anything is really set." Shizune continued, ignoring the angry expression from the elder as his expression deflated comically.

"They will uphold my decision." Takao sniffed haughtily, then swept from the area. His exit would have been much more grand if the bottoms of his robes hadn't been stained with muck and mud though.

Ino sighed, shaking her head. Tendrils of long blond tresses caked with mud hung around her face from where her pony tail had been pulled. "What if they do uphold what he said?" She asked quietly.

Shizune sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Look. You were dumb and thoughtless. Still, don't give up. We'll talk to Tsunade, see what can be done. And ….well, I know you had plans for tonight, but I think it'd look better if you two stayed and cleaned up this mess. Save the Winter Festival and all."

Sakura nodded, dejected as she shot a sorrowful look over to Kiba. "I guess dinner is out for tonight."

Ino sighed and pushed up her sleeves as she watched Shizune draft Matsuri into helping her get the two Suna fangirls up off the ground. "We'll send them back when they're cleared. They can help you clean." Shizune paused. "And once I heal them, I don't want them hurt again." She paused again. "Unless absolutely necessary." The medic said for Suzue's benefit, knowing the girl was feigning unconsciousness.

A small 'eep' escaped the girl and everyone chuckled as Shizune and Matsuri carried them away toward the hospital to be healed.

"I'll help clean up." Kiba said, then shrugged as Sakura tried to turn down his offer. "I said I'll help, and that's that." He stated firmly, his chin turning stubborn. "So will Shino."

The Aburame sighed at hearing himself pledged to the effort, but a single glance at Temari's face had him nodding his agreement. So much for their evening plans.

"C'mon!" Kiba enthused. "You can help your girl and sneak kisses as we save the Winter Festival!"

"Perv." Kankuro muttered. "Why are we doing this?"

Temari sighed. "So Ino won't be banned from going to Suna and so that Sakura won't be sent there. Indefinately."

TenTen stiffened at hearing that. "We'll help." She pledged herself and Kankuro, knowing that her own post in Suna hadn't been confirmed yet by the council.

"We will?" Kankuro looked at her, then reading the expression on her face he sighed. "Yep. We will. Anyone else? Gaara?"

"No."

Ino stilled, turning wide eyes on the red-head, but not saying anything.

Kiba groaned. "Sure, she's covered in mud and goo, but think of how sexy she looks like that." The Inuzuka caught Gaara's sudden murderous glare. "Okay, or not. She's not sexy at all covered in mud. In fact, she's not sexy at all. Nope, not one bit. In fact, she's a troll. Yep. A troll."

As was his intention, everyone chuckled and tension melted away. Everyone but Gaara though.

Ino looked at him and started to step away, but his sand wrapped around her waist and pulled her ruthlessly toward him. Her jewel-toned eyes met his pale-jade gaze.

"I'm not going to help clean up." Gaara told her, as she nodded, unable to look away from his fathomless stare. "I'm going to meet with Tsunade. Corner her if I must."

Ino's mouth formed an 'oh' as her eyes lit up with a smile.

Temari chuckled. "Yep, sometimes it's helpful to have a Kazekage in the family."

o.o.o.o.o

A short time later TenTen watched as everyone moved to help move out the debris. Ino headed off with Temari and Shino to her family's flower shop. New garlands and decorations needed to be made and hung, and quickly.

But even in the bustle, she didn't miss the silent figure standing off to the side. Watching her. And neither did Kankuro. Her puppeteer growled and sneered over at where Neji was standing. "He going to help or try and grab you again?"

TenTen shrugged nervously, then pinned Kankuro with a stare that told him to stay out of it more clearly than if she'd actually spoken. "Tsk, fine." The puppet user muttered, holding up hands of defeat. Those hands weren't as innocent as they looked though as chakra strings formed and attached to her shoulders.

Her dark eyes narrowed on his warning look. She nodded. "If he grabs me, you can pound him." She promised. Kankuro started to smile before she continued. "After I pound him of course."

Neji's brow creased as he heard the two chuckling low and privately to one another. He didn't even bother to look up as Kiba and Sakura passed him. He didn't acknowledge Kiba's look of sympathy, or Sakura's sour expression as the two debated what to put in the message to their parents explaining the situation.

Neji watched TenTen approach him slowly and felt his expression stiffen into a mask, hiding his feelings.

"Hyuuga."

"TenTen." He countered, using her given name as a close friend had a right to do.

Something softened around her mouth. "Neji." She allowed.

Grunting, he nodded before looking over her shoulder at Kankuro who was pretending not to notice what they were doing. "He going to attack me?"

"Not without cause." TenTen frowned lightly. "Why? Are you going to give him a reason to attack?"

"Not this time." Neji said almost bitterly. He then let his pale-eyed gaze run over her face, studiously ignoring the fact that she was wearing another girl's clothes. "You look …happy."

"I am."

"I'm glad."

TenTen cocked her head to one side, the flow of her hair ribbons following suit. "You sounded sincere just now."

Neji dryly coughed, almost a chuckle. "I actually am. I do want you to be happy. We …we're still friends. And teammates?" The last was a question.

"Always." She hurried to tell him, then paused. "Only, you …you know I'm going to Suna for a while, right? To teach at their academy, it's based on our system here."

The Hyuuga prodigy shrugged. "They'll be lucky to have you." He paused, unsure. "Gai will not be happy though."

TenTen winced. "I know, but …"

"Yes, but …" Neji sighed deeply. "That kiss earlier …the one in the market."

"I know which kiss you are referring to." She snapped, as if to say he was stupid if he thought she didn't remember.

"It …I …." Neji sighed, unable to apologize. Finally, he just ignored it and went on. "It didn't feel right."

TenTen nodded, knowing that was as close as she'd get to an apology from Neji. "No. In fact, it made me realize just what I had at my fingertips." She said and shot a glance over at the puppeteer, who was still pretending not to watch. Poorly pretending at that.

"Ouch." Neji winced sourly. "Guess that puts me in my place."

TenTen sighed, shaking her head. "I don't mean you kiss badly. I just …I meant that when you kissed me, it felt like a warm reflection of what I feel when I'm with him."

"This just gets worse and worse." Neji muttered and started to turn away, only to draw up short as she put her hand on his shoulder. Across the road, Kankuro stiffened, but didn't race forward.

"No. I'm putting this poorly. I mean …we're too close. We're friends. Siblings almost and that's what the kiss felt like. That doesn't reflect badly on you, it's just …we're not right for each other. When you kiss someone else and feel what I'm talking about, you'll see."

"Right. Sure. Whatever." Neji stood tall and proud, clearly not believing her.

"Seriously. It's different." TenTen sighed. "It's not really something anyone can explain. Just go kiss other girls. Date. Find that special person. You'll see, I promise."

For the first time a smile cracked the Hyuuga lips. An actual laugh escaped him. "I can't do that."

"Sure you can." She frowned.

"No I can't." He whispered, leaning in. "I'm undateable, remember? Who'd take me?"

TenTen leaned in to whisper back. "Over three quarters of the village ladies, and probably a good number of the men too. Our undateable book was not meant as a 'rule' that everyone has to follow. Look at Naruto, he's still on probation but he's dating already."

Neji looked taken aback by her comment. "You think I'm gay?"

Laughing outright, she pushed him. "No! And that's not what I meant. I just meant to say you're a terribly attractive guy. You won't be alone long. Don't take everything so literally!"

He let a smile grace his lips, she grinned in response, and across the road Kankuro growled as he watched.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura swept mud and debris out of the most damaged shop front. She couldn't look the shop owner in the eye, as this was the vendor where her mother usually brought fresh fish. Why oh why hadn't she thought out this fight better?

"It'll be okay." Kiba soothed.

"No it won't!" Sakura groaned. "A first impression is what lasts in the mind forever. Now your mother will think I'm a flake."

"She's known you for years." He said, puzzled by her lack of logic as he paused in his task of mending a vending stall meant to hold fish. "Or at least of you. I'm sure you two have met somewhere along the line."

"No! I mean a first impression as the girl you're bringing home to her! Oh crap, do you think my mother got the message in time?" Sakura moaned. "What if she was already on her way to your house? This is awful!"

"Why? My mother isn't that bad." Kiba huffed a bit. "It's not like she's going to toss your mother out in the road. Sure her manners aren't the highest, but she still knows how to host a dinner."

Sakura groaned and scratched away some of the drying mud from her arms. "It's not _your_ mother I'm worried about making a bad impression."

The Inuzuka cocked an eyebrow at that, but his girlfriend did not elaborate. He looked around, then whistled sharply.

Neji, about to leave, turned toward them. "I'm not sweeping up mud in order to keep our visitors from going home empty handed." He may be resigned to losing TenTen, but that didn't mean he had to help out either.

"Naw." Kiba smirked. "But would you do us a favor?"

"Us?" Neji asked warily.

Kiba just nodded in Sakura's direction. "On your way to where ever you're going, swing by my home and tell my mother what's going on. We were supposed to be there already, sort of a family getting-to-know each other kind of thing. We sent a note, but it might be better if someone explained in person."

Neji stared at Kiba and Kiba stared at Neji. "A favor for a favor?"

Kiba nodded, suddenly wary himself. "After all this, I might need some assistance in keeping tabs on …" Neji paused uncertainly, glancing at Sakura. "Sasuke."

The pink haired kunoichi looked up sharply. "Why?"

Neji watched Sakura closely for any change in expression. "He's stalking Hinata. Wants to marry her it seems."

The fragments of the broom handle ricocheted off the newly rebuilt stall as it shattered in Sakura's chakra-reinforced grip.

o.o.o.o.o

Having been shooed away by Ino as she worked on the garlands, Temari put herself in Shino's way half a dozen times before she finally gave up. Huffing, she 'thwacked' him in the shin with her fan to get his attention. She was ready to sneak off for a kiss or three.

He grunted, and moved out of her way as she used some light wind movements with her fan to clear out some debris so it could be carted away.

Not used to being ignored, her teal-colored eyes narrowed dangerously. "What's wrong with you all of a sudden? Bug crawl up your ass and die?"

Shino didn't even look at her as he moved away.

Temari frowned. What had happened? They'd been fine. Better than fine. Despite her grousing about TenTen, she'd been thinking about bending a certain 'rule' herself. Now, this? She stalked after him, not one to give up easily.

The blond kunoichi watched her boyfriend as he ignored her, and plotted.

o.o.o.o.o

"What do you mean, it's not that easy?" Gaara spoke with his usual sandpaper voice, his pale-jade eyes narrowed on the Leaf Hokage.

Tsunade sighed. "You have it easy. Your council still fears you. Mine? Bah."

Gaara shrugged. "Kill a few, it always helps."

The blonde stared at him a moment, measuring his words carefully. "You know, just a year or two ago I would have taken that statement as fact and worried about your sanity."

The red-head shook his head sadly. "Well, I've _thought_ about killing a few, does that help at all? And while being sane has its disadvantages, I like it over what I was as a demon vessel."

"Naruto still is one." She pointed out quietly.

Gaara scoffed. "Yes, but his was sealed within him. Mine was infused with me to the very core of my being. It doesn't make him less powerful, but it does help with the whole sanity question."

"Indeed." Tsunade agreed, thinking with fondness of the blond knucklehead. "But we're getting off subject."

"Indeed." His voice mimicked hers.

Her gaze narrowed on him. "Equal in rank we may be politically, but I still have seniority over you. Punk. Watch it."

Sand rattled in his gourd, but in no other way did Gaara respond to the implied threat.

Tsunade smiled. "Yeah, I guess if you scared easily you wouldn't still be holding that office." She sighed. "I'll see what I can do, but …the council and I don't always see eye to eye."

"What of Matsuri and TenTen?" Gaara asked stoically. "They're trading places to teach at our respective schools. Weapons masters both and jounin. Even trade. Will this ruin that situation as well?"

The Hokage sighed. "Gai will hate me, but I will sign that treatise tonight. The council won't be able to touch it."

"And the others?"

Tsunade looked at Gaara closely, trying to read his expression. Trying to see how deep his feelings ran for Yamanaka. Was this serious? Would Ino get hurt? Should she even interfere with the punishment Takao had already laid out? "I'll think on it." Was all she promised.

He grunted, instinctively knowing he'd pushed the Leaf Hokage about as far as he could. For tonight anyway.

o.o.o.o.o

**Sorry for the delay. Lots happening. Family crisis with an illness (my grandmother). I'll update when I can. Thank you for reading this far!**


	21. Of Kissing and Cartwheels

The two women sat together, looking everywhere but at each other. Finally, with an inelegant sigh, Tsume tried again. "Are you sure you don't want to stay for supper?"

Haruno Tanshi pasted a blatantly false smile on her lips and raised the tea cup. "No, no. Since the young couple won't be joining us, I hardly see the point. The tea has been … lovely, but I don't want to intrude."

A loud snort from Kuromaru drew a frown from the pink haired matron. Tanshi stared at the nin-dog suspiciously, as if she suspected he knew he was being rude, and was doing it on purpose. She opened her mouth to ask, pointing at the eye-patch wearing dog.

Inuzuka Hana knew beyond a doubt that her mother's nin-dog was indeed being rude and decided to intervene quickly. She hurried forward with a plate of appetizers and smiled. "Something light, perhaps?"

The pink-haired woman frowned, her thoughts interrupted as she stared at the Inuzuka heiress. Her soft green eyes belied the sharpness of her look as she peered at Hana speculatively. "You're not married yet, are you?" Her voice made it less a question and more a statement of certainty. As if she doubted any male would be interested in such a kunoichi.

Hana stiffened, but managed to keep her temper. Tsume growled, or Kuromaru did, either way it sounded threatening.

Hand to her chest and with wide frightened eyes, Sakura's mother turned to stare at the duo, her mouth gaping a bit.

Tsume chuckled. "You look like a fish like that."

Green eyes narrowed. "At least I dressed decently for this. Some of us take our social responsibilities seriously."

Hana sighed and backed away. No need to inform the poor civilian woman that THIS was dressed up for Tsume. The jounin uniform was clean and pressed and as far as Tsume was concerned, was completely appropriate attire.

"Your daughter is a kunoichi." Hana said softly, pointing out the obvious. She put the tray of appetizers down on a side table, then shooed away the Haimaru triplets, her own three nin-dogs, who were eyeing the food with unabashed doggie lust.

Haruno Tanshi stood, wiping away non-existent crumbs or wrinkles from her expensive dress. She did not respond.

"In fact, don't her mission paychecks help pay for your quite lovely outfit there?" Hana continued, ignoring Tsume's smirk of encouragement.

Drawing a deep breath, Tanshi looked at both women haughtily. "My daughter, against my better judgment, has chosen a career path not suited for young ladies of quality. I'd hoped she'd grow out of it, but …"

"But she's seeing my son." Tsume said blandly, settling back into her seat as she crossed her arms. "That's got to hurt."

"Yes, well …I'm sure your son is a quite amenable fellow. Sakura thinks highly of him." Tanshi allowed, then waited until Tsume began to relax before continuing. "Then she thought highly of that Uchiha fellow for a while too. See how well _he_ turned out."

Tsume didn't jump to her feet, she moved slowly, but the anger rushing out of her was apparent as Kuromaru whined and Tanshi backed up a few steps.

"Now, now. We need to get along. This is for Kiba and Sakura and isn't about us at all." Hana tried to interject. "We need to think about them."

"What does a kunoichi with no boyfriend and no future know about anything? Do you even have a date for the Winter Festival tomorrow? Don't you tell me that I'm not thinking about my daughter! I want a better life for her than this!"

Tsume growled again, this time flashing fangs. "You don't want your kunoichi daughter dating a shinobi? Or is it just Inuzuka males you object to? Would you rather see her with a Hyuuga perhaps?"

Tanshi narrowed her eyes on Tsume. "The Hyuuga clan at least knows how to entertain properly! And how to dress." She turned to Hana. "Really dear, you need to look more feminine if you hope to catch any sort of husband. No one will look at you when you dress so manish."

The Inuzuka clan leader snarled. "Perhaps it's not our males you object to, only our females. You seem to have a problem with … kunoichi?"

Tanshi flinched on that last word.

There was a knock on the door and Hana hurried to answer it. She hoped it was a summons to go on a mission, or a veterinary emergency, or … or anything to get her out of this mess. And why did it sting so much that Sakura's mother had been right? She _didn't_ have a date for tomorrow's festival. In fact, she'd not been out since her relationship with Iruka had fizzled. Nothing harsh, it just hadn't worked out. Had that really been over three months ago?

Opening the door, Hana paused and blinked. "Yes?"

Neji looked at her and nodded. "Kiba and Sakura wanted me to come and explain their note and why they couldn't come to dinner."

Hana eyed the youth speculatively, then grabbed his arm and yanked him inside as she slammed the door shut. "Play along and I'll make it worth your while."

Neji's pale eyes narrowed. "Excuse me?"

"Want off the 'undateable' list?" Hana asked bluntly.

"Yes." He nodded, though cautiously. What did she want him to do?

o.o.o.o.o

Matsuri was waiting outside the medical hospital for the two Suna chuunin kunoichi to be done. After that she was to escort them back to the scene of the 'crime' and have them help with the clean up and re-decorating efforts.

"My lovely desert bloom! You look so sad, that is no way to look in the prime of your life."

Lee's voice startled her out of her musings and she flashed him a grin, though it was less than heartfelt.

Rock Lee noticed the difference immediately and grabbed her hand, spinning her in a wide circle. "Ah Matsuri, dove of the desert and rose blossom of the sand, what must a man do to make that smile shine like the heavens?"

Pulling away proved difficult, but Matsuri finally stopped spinning long enough to grab Lee's hand and lead him to a bench beside the hospital's entrance. "Lee? Do you mean those? Those things you call me?"

Lee's smile nearly blinded her as he threw out his arms. "How can you doubt my sincerity? I mean all that I say and say all that I mean. You are the loveliest …." He stalled as she put her fingers gently against his lips.

"No. Lee? You say those kinds of things to a lot of people."

The dark-haired youth started to speak, but she put her fingers against his lips again. He caught her wrist, and she caught his with her other hand.

"Lee! LISTEN FOR A CHANGE!" Matsuri basically yelled in his face.

Shocked, Lee started to answer, saw her eyes narrow and swallowed what he was about to say. Torn with the need to respond, he finally nodded emphatically.

"This is a _**challenge,**_ Lee." Matsuri scolded him as he stiffened, coming to attention. "Your challenge is not to speak until I give you leave to do so. If you fail, you will have to run 500 laps around Konoha. Understood?"

This time Lee smiled as he nodded.

Matsuri sighed and stared at him a moment, then reached up and brushed an errant hair back into his trade-mark bowl cut. She gave him a sweet smile and Lee smiled in return, his mouth opening. "Ah, ah, you can't fail in this challenge just yet." She chided gently.

Lee groaned, then slapped both of his hands over his mouth looking horrified.

She grinned and chuckled. "No, that won't count against you."

He sighed happily, then slapped his hands over his mouth again looking at her with wide eyes.

Matsuri shook her head as she tried not to laugh. "You are so dear, do you know that?"

Lee looked shocked, then shrugged.

"No, of course not. You have no clue how wonderful you are." Matsuri then sighed as he thumped his chest. "No, I know you know you're a great shinobi. What I mean is, you don't know what a wonderful person you are."

Lee shook his head, not getting it. He held up both hands in surrender.

Pursing her lips, Matsuri reached out and traced the line of his cheekbone. "There are two silly twits in the hospital today. Fangirls of Gaara's who couldn't see that he has no interest in them."

He looked at the hospital door, then back at her.

"Yes, I was one of them." Matsuri confessed. "But at least I knew that Gaara wasn't interested in me. I just figured that as long as he wasn't interested in anyone else, one day he might turn to me. You see, I admire him a lot."

Lee thumped his chest, smiling though his eyes were serious.

"Yes, I know you admire him too, but not like I did. No don't argue with me." She admonished him as Lee grabbed her shoulders. Sighing, he let her go.

"Lee? I'm staying in Konoha for a while. To teach at your Academy here."

He nodded. He'd already known that.

Matsuri continued. "I'm staying because I like you."

Lee smiled big and nodded.

"No Lee. Not just like. I really LIKE you. In the way a girl likes a boy." She explained.

Lee's eyes widened and she nodded, unembarrassed.

"I know you call me endearments, and I know you like me, but what I want to know …" Here she finally stalled and could no longer meet his eyes, she turned to stare at the ground. "What I want to know …."

A strong hand caught her shoulder and she raised her eyes back up to his. His misty eyes filled with emotion. But was this because he returned her feelings? Or because he didn't and he felt sorry for her?

Taking a great big breath, Matsuri caught one of his hands and put it on her own cheek. "I'll give you a choice. Lee? You can run 500 laps around Konoha, or you can kiss me."

A long pause followed, one in which the lack of a response finally stained Matsuri's cheeks a rosy red.

Lee coughed, then he swallowed, finally he broke the silence. "Can't I do both?"

Matsuri choked, then chuckled as she shook her head. "Only you, Lee. Only you would think like that."

o.o.o.o.o

"Thanks, Shino." Ino murmured as she reached for the garland strand he was holding for her as she weaved some extra flower stems into the arrangements.

Receiving no answer from the quiet Aburame was no surprise, but not getting the garland strand placed in her had was surprising. Looking up, she didn't see hide nor hair of a certain bug ninja.

TenTen grinned and picked up the fallen strand, handing it to a puzzled Ino. "You don't see Temari anywhere around either, do you?"

The blond looked startled a moment, then cast a glance around to where Temari had been clearing out debris. Happily, the debris was gone. But then again, so was the wind kunoichi as well.

A slow smile teased TenTen's lips. "So. One bug ninja and one Sand lass missing? That's interesting, yes?"

Ino nodded, trying to hide her own smile as she deadpanned. "Not as interesting as the fact that you're wearing one of Temari's outfits. Care to explain that?"

Two seconds later TenTen was across the road helping Kankuro hang fresh lanterns.

Ino grinned widely. "No, I didn't think you wanted to explain that one."

o.o.o.o.o

"Neji apologizes for running late." Hana exclaimed brightly as she nearly pushed the Hyuuga prodigy into the room.

Tanshi straightened her shoulders. "I'm afraid I must be going."

Hana kicked Neji, who frowned sharply. "I do apologize for running so behind this evening. I certainly meant no disrespect."

As the young Hyuuga turned on the charm, Tsume frowned over at her daughter. Hana ignored her.

"I was not aware that you would be joining us for supper." Tanshi stated, relaxing a bit under the smooth manners of the Hyuuga.

"My fault." Hana jumped in, seeing that Neji was at a loss for an appropriate lie. "He's been tied up with family business and I was unaware that he'd rescheduled some things just so he could be with me tonight." Hana smiled and ran a nervous hand over her pony tail. "And tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Tsume asked, settling back to watch the show all while wondering just what in the hell was going on.

"Tomorrow." Neji said it like a statement, but his pale eyes pinned Hana with the unspoken question. This was the first he'd heard of 'tomorrow'.

"Ah, the Winter Festival." Tanshi smiled brightly. "I'm afraid I owe the young lady an apology. I had no idea she had such an illustrious date for the festival."

"Me neither." Whispered Tsume, greatly amused to watch both Neji and Hana squirm. Luckily Sakura's mother didn't catch their uneasiness.

"Neji was just explaining that Sakura and Kiba aren't merely 'delayed' as their note said." Hana rushed in to turn the conversation. "They got into a spot of trouble with a fight in town and have to clean up the mess."

Tanshi sniffed in derision. "Oh?" She infused the one word into a lengthy judgment on Kiba and how much of a trouble maker he must be.

"Yes." Neji's mouth twitched. "Sakura beat a couple of Suna kunoichi something fierce, but she's helping to clean it all up. Kiba volunteered to stay and help her even though he wasn't involved."

Tanshi's face fell as Tsume laughed outright. "She's got more spunk than I first thought. Come on. Is it that bad that your daughter is a kunoichi? Or that she's interested in a shinobi?"

Sakura's mother sighed and shook her head. "I …I just want her to be safe. And ninja …they're in danger all the time."

Tsume sighed and let all her anger float away. "I forget you're a civilian. Look. Sakura's made a choice in her life. You raise children to think for themselves, then when they make choices you don't agree with it becomes …."

The two women disappeared into the kitchen together, their voices fading.

Neji turned his pale eyes on Hana who cringed inwardly. "Tomorrow? You're my date for the Winter Festival?"

Hana nodded unapologetically. "Sorry, I just needed to show that woman that I could get a date if I wanted. And even a Hyuuga at that. How perfect that you showed up when you did?"

"And fell into your trap." He responded dryly

"Trap? Oh come on." Hana protested. "Like I could set a trap for someone I didn't even know was coming by."

Neji shrugged, conceding that point at least. "So, this date is the way to get me off the 'undateable' list?"

"Yep."

Neji considered that for a long moment, before shaking his head negatively. "Not enough."

Hana drew up and flashed him an irritated look. "What else?"

"Kisses." Was the surprising answer.

A chuckle escaped her before she caught on to the fact that he was in deadly earnest. She watched his stoic face a moment, realizing that he wasn't joking. "You can't mean that. Look, it's only a pretend date."

"No. If I'm seen escorting you to the Festival, but not the family luncheon, **_then_** it's not a real date and everyone will know its fake." Neji lied smoothly.

"Family luncheon?" Hana swallowed heavily. Did she have _anything_ that she could wear to such an event? "Look, I'm an Inuzuka. We're not used to your lofty positions."

Neji nearly choked. "Are you kidding? I'm branch family. It only looks lofty from the outside, I assure you."

"Branch or not, you're still a Hyuuga."

"So they tell me." Neji sighed, then looked toward the kitchen. "Look. You need a date, I need to learn how to kiss and …"

"EXCUSE me?" Hana sputtered. "Now I know you're pulling my leg. Like you'd need any help like that."

His pride slightly mollified, Neji quirked an eyebrow at her. "TenTen said when she kissed me it was like kissing her brother."

Hana paused, studying him. "You're trusting me with a juicy bit of prime gossip." She pointed out to him, just in case he'd missed that point.

Neji smiled finally. "You tell on me, I tell on you. I'm on the 'undateable' list. You just couldn't find anyone to date. Which is worse?"

She hissed at him. "Low strike there, you're a snake."

"A snake you'll be kissing tomorrow." He reminded her drolly. "If you agree to the terms that is."

Hana thought about it, then eyed him. Kissing the Hyuuga jounin wouldn't be a hardship, and she did need the date. At least to show up Sakura's witchy mother. She sighed heavily. "Fine. Whatever. I get a date. You get _beginner_ kissing lessons." She couldn't resist teasing him.

Neji's pale-eyed gaze narrowed dangerously on her as she swept by him toward the kitchen where Tsume and Tanshi's voices were rising once more. Beginner lessons indeed. Bah.

o.o.o.o.o

Shino blinked his eyes as Temari stared into them. Slowly she reached out and snagged his sunglasses, baring his melting chocolate gaze.

"We can't just leave …" He began.

"Watch me." She retorted quickly.

Shino looked into her teal colored eyes as they bore into his own. His were the first to break as he looked to one side.

Temari hit him in the chest.

The bug-nin fell against the wall with a 'thud' as she stalked up to him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" She poked him in the chest with one finger.

Shino caught her finger as his dark eyes started to snap with growing temper. "What's wrong with you?"

"No!" Temari screeched. "No, you are NOT turning this around on me. We were fine, then this fight happened and then …you're ignoring me? Turning from me? What? The poor manners of my brother's fangirls got you thinking that all Suna kunoichi are crazed?"

Shino looked pointedly at her as she backed off, realizing that pushing him into a wall wasn't exactly proving she wasn't 'crazed'.

"So what is it?" She demanded hoarsely. "Why the cold shoulder all of a sudden?"

"HEY YOU TWO, GET BACK OVER HERE!"

Better than a cold bucket of water was Shizune's demanding shout. Shino flashed an apologetic look and whispered 'later' to her as he grabbed his sunglasses with one hand and her hand with the other and led her back to work.

Against her better judgment, Temari allowed herself to be pulled back toward the others in the clean-up crew. Shizune stood there with a shame-faced and bandaged duo of Suzue and Harumi. Temari ignored them, focusing instead on Shizune. "Where's Matsuri?" She asked.

Shizune laughed secretively and shook her head. "I let them off the hook."

"Them?" Shino asked, puzzled. Matsuri was one person, so who was 'them'? And why did they get out of this clean-up crew?

o.o.o.o.o

Sai lay replete and gloriously nude on the bed as he sketched.

Anko padded back from the kitchen, also nude and smiling happily. She handed Sai a snack as a wild shout of glee from outside startled them both.

Mitarashi shrugged in response to Sai's unspoken question. Ignoring her lack of clothing, she peered out her window blinds. "It's Lee."

More shouting from the street had Anko laughing.

"What's he doing?" Sai asked, not bothering to get up and look.

Anko grinned as she watched Lee and a laughing young woman. "Cartwheels. In between kisses it seems."

Sai just shook his head and continued to sketch.

The spiky-haired jounin sauntered over to the bed and crawled over next to him, blowing into his ear. "Again?" He asked happily, pushing away his sketch pad.

Anko purred. "Let's see what I can do to inspire cartwheels in you."

o.o.o.o.o

**Sorry for the delay in updating, I hope to be writing more consistantly soon. Hope you enjoyed this chapter though! Reviews are always nice to get ... LOL!**


	22. Alternates List

Bright and early-ish, for Tsunade had been out at an all night poker game, she arrived at her office. She was met by the sour look of a pissed-off Shizune and a huge stack of paperwork. The Hokage gave one wary look at her assistant's expression and turned around to leave. Only her way was blocked.

Tsunade blinked, her vision blurred. "Sakura? I don't like that hairstyle, it's too old for you." She watched as her pink-haired student frowned sharply. Smiling, the blond burped right into her face. "Oops, sorry." Blinking owlishly, she tried to focus. "That outfit isn't right either, if you don't watch out you'll start to look like your mother, the 'cold witch'. And I know Kiba won't find that sexy." She frowned thoughtfully. "Actually, I'm not sure anyone would find that outfit sexy."

A sharp indrawn breath was the only response.

"Remember? You told me if you start acting like your mother to go ahead and kill you." Tsunade started to roll up her sleeves, but found her fingers kept getting tangled up in the fabric. "And that look on your face, all squinched up and stuck-up? Yeah, that's your mother all over, so it looks like I can kill you now. No really, I'm just trying to help."

Tsunade pulled back her fist, expecting Sakura to either defend herself or start laughing, but all she got was Shizune grabbing her arm and swinging her around.

"She's drunk." The voice grated on Tsunade's nerves like a rusty rasp, she shuddered.

"Shizune, let me kill her. I was teasing before, but now she even _sounds_ like her mother." Tsunade managed to say without slurring her words, much.

But her assistant wasn't looking at her, instead she was looking over her shoulder and smiling in a very horrified manner. "Haruno-san, the Hokage is merely pulling a prank. A Winter Festival tradition in some of the villages we visited on our travels before returning here to Konoha."

"Haruno-san?" Tsunade rolled the name around her suddenly furry-feeling tongue. "When did Sakura become a 'san'?"

"Provincial traditions from no-account villages hold no interest for me." Sniffed the woman behind her, which with sudden clarity Tsunade realized _wasn't_ Sakura after all. She turned wide eyes on Shizune who just grimaced and pulled her into her private office, offering a "We'll be right with you" before shutting the door firmly and leaving Haruno Tanshi fuming in the outer offices.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro munched on an apple, looking utterly bored. His Bunraku facial markings and hood did nothing to hide either his total disdain or his sneering visage.

Suzue looked behind him toward the door. Harumi did a better job of hiding the fact that she was looking for someone else, and was disappointed not to see _him_.

"He's not coming." The puppet ninja yawned. He'd been up very late and early into the morning helping with the clean-up and redecorating for Konoha's Winter Festival. And he resented having to be here rather in bed resting up for the day's festivities. "So lets make this quick, I need a nap."

Suzue sneered, but her expression fell short as she was struggling not to let the hurt show on her face. Not to mention her facial bruising. Or the swelling.

The puppeteer sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Cut to the heart of it. Gaara's not coming for you. He doesn't want you." Suzue slumped while Harumi preened. Kankuro nailed the second girl with a glare next. "He doesn't want you either."

Harumi's eyes misted, making Kankuro wince slightly. "Stop that, you're a Suna kunoichi. No crying on foreign soil."

Suzue sniffed with only her pride holding her from joining in Harumi's tears. "You'll see differently. Gaara would never choose that blond hussy over us. Once we're back in Suna …."

Kankuro growled, shutting up both girls who flinched. "You don't get it. Gaara doesn't want you back. No, let me be more specific. The Kazekage of Suna is giving you two to Konoha. I'm not saying he doesn't want you personally, he doesn't want you AT ALL."

Shocked to the core, Harumi couldn't even cry, so hurt did she feel. "You, you can't do that!"

"Aren't you listening? I'm not doing that. He is." Kankuro sighed as now Suzue teared up too. "Look, it's probably not forever. Three months to start with, just let him cool off. You two screwed up big time."

Harumi buried her hands in her face, as Suzue wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

The puppet user sighed unhappily and used his chakra strings to 'fetch' a tissue from the box next to the door and drop it in Suzue's lap. "Use that."

Harumi looked up, miserable. "We were just trying to get Gaara to see the truth about the blond slut. The booklet was no big deal. Really!"

Kankuro couldn't believe his ears. "What the fuck? Are you kidding? That book was an insult not only to those kunoichi, but to the guys dating them. Including Gaara. Me too for that matter."

"No!" Suzue wailed. "It wasn't like that! You guys were being duped! We were just trying to help!"

Fed up, Kankuro threw his apple core into the trash bin with enough force to knock the bin into the wall with a loud 'thud'. Both girls visibly flinched, again. The puppeteer stalked up to the twin beds and leaned down on both arms over Suzue. The girl gulped and lay back on her bed, only to have Kankuro follow her, leaning over her his eyes narrowing dangerously. She looked frightened, as well she should be.

"Help? You draw a picture of TenTen and call her a boy in disguise? That's not help. That's ludicrous. Do you REALLY believe that of her? And before you answer, remember _chuunin_, I'm a jounin and can tell when you lie from your heart rhythm." He fabricated smoothly.

Suzue couldn't manage to speak, her eyes huge pools of shame as she shook her head negatively.

"So it wasn't to _**help**_ me then?" Kankuro hissed. "Was it? No, it was to defame Ino. And to turn Gaara away from her."

Suzue managed to drop her eyes from his hard gaze as she nodded. Kankuro finally backed away, letting her breathe before she passed out.

"And last night? When you were supposed to be making amends by helping with the clean-up and redecoration? Did you have to pull a sneak attack on Yamanaka?" Kankuro was tired of this. "You're both idiots. And you're damned lucky that Shino and Kiba were able to talk Ino down from murdering the two of you."

"She went crazy!" Harumi muttered darkly, rubbing at the cast on her broken arm.

"You attacked her! You're fortunate she didn't kill you during the second fight. Hell, you're fortunate I didn't join Yamanaka, I sure felt like it!" He snapped, growling. "There's no excuse for this kind of childish behavior!"

"We're in love!" Harumi straightened mutinously, refusing to give up.

"You don't even know what love is you nitwit. You're a fangirl, plain and simple. No, actually you give fangirls a bad name. Matsuri was a fangirl, but she's also smart enough to move on." Kankuro snapped back. "And now you're banished from Suna for the next three months at the least, maybe longer as it depends on your actions here. When we leave tomorrow, you won't be with us."

"Only the Kazekage could make that call, and you're not him!" Suzue sniffled piteously.

"Don't you get it yet?" Kankuro sighed and reached for the door, more than ready to be gone from them. "The only reason that I'm here and not him to tell you all this, is because I didn't want to explain to your parents how I let the Kazekage execute you for being idiots. I saved your miserable lives. I'd be nicer to me in the future …that is if you have any brains at all." With that, he walked out the door and let it slam behind him on their wails.

o.o.o.o.o

Around mid-morning Shino opened his front door, only to blink in shock as Temari stood there poised to pound on the door he'd just opened. Stunned, the two just stared at each other a moment. Finally Shino stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him. Except, when he turned around he was almost plastered up against Temari, she hadn't bothered to move back.

He sighed. She sighed because he sighed.

Shino felt her stiffen her shoulders as he put his hands on them to move her back a step. He found it hard to think, much less breathe, when she was this close.

"Don't push me away." She said, her voice soundly strained.

"I'm just getting some space." He told her, moving her just enough so that they could stand side by side and not plastered up against each other.

Temari glared at him, poking him with an accusatory finger to the shoulder. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Why are you pushing me away?"

Shino looked away, then back over to her. She couldn't read his expression so she reached for his sunglasses, but he moved back out of her reach.

Frowning, Temari shook her head and walked up to him, falling into step as they headed toward …where? Temari wasn't sure and didn't care. She had things that had to be discussed. "You let me see your eyes before."

He only grunted once, then fell silent again.

"THAT'S IT!" Temari screeched, going for her fan. Then she suddenly stopped as she saw a shocked Shibi open the front door and stare out at the two of them. She gave the Aburame clan leader a wobbly smile. "I'm about to kill your son, a little privacy please?"

Shibi's eyebrows shot up over his own sunglasses, he looked back and forth between the two and thought about it long and hard. "No weapons." He muttered, then he grunted and mumbled something under his breath before shutting the door.

Temari grinned in triumph at Shino where he stood with his hands in his pockets. "See? Your father is on my side."

Shino pursed his lips. "More like he's smart enough to stay out of it."

Temari looked at him and saw the rigid stance and blank expression. Feeling like she might throw up, she let go of her fan and stalked away.

Shino said nothing, only watching her leave.

Temari turned around at least a hundred feet away. "Well?" She yelled hoarsely "Are you actually going to let me walk away?"

He just stood there a moment, staring at her. Then he finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

Temari clenched her fist, tears she'd never acknowledge stung her teal-colored eyes. "Yes you are. A sorry individual indeed." She said simply and turned to walk away with as much dignity as she could muster.

Shino watched her go, his eyes never leaving her until she was out of sight. He pulled his hands out of his pocket and held them in front of his face. They weren't exactly steady.

A cough behind him let him know he was no longer alone. He turned to look up at his father as Shibi too watched the direction in which Temari had disappeared. "Do you want my opinion?"

Shino paused, then shook his head 'no'.

Shibi nodded. "As a father I'm entitled to give it anyway." With that he slapped the back of his son's head. Startled, Shino stared at him, rubbing his head.

"That's an opinion?" Shino asked quietly.

Shibi nodded as he gave a soft grunt, then he headed back into the house.

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji stood still, his presents for Hinata and Hinabi gaily wrapped and in his hands. The hands he hoped weren't sweating. Or shaking.

"Relax son," Choza chuckled, placing a calming hand on his heir's shoulder.

"Easy for you to say." Chouji murmured, much to his mother's delight as she chuckled.

An elderly servant opened the door, greeted the threesome and ushered them into Lord Hiashi's private study. The Hyuuga clan leader didn't smile much, though his pale eyes reflected his pleasure at seeing them during the greetings.

Chouji ran through the greetings properly, but his attention wasn't on Hiashi, and the clan leader seemed to realize that.

"Hinata will be down shortly." Her father said, without having been asked. Hiashi smiled over at Choza whose own smile grew wider. "Why don't you head on to the garden? I'm sure that the girls wouldn't mind giving you a small tour. It's winter though, the gardens aren't at their finest."

"I'm sure they're lovely." Akimichi Asami said politely. "Chouji? Do you know the way to the gardens? Yes? Good, come and escort your mother."

The two left after a moment or two more of small talk. Hiashi watched them leave with real warmth in his eyes. A warmth that surprised Choza a bit. He knew Hiashi, of course, but only through being ninja of the same village. Some political stuff, though the Hyuuga leader was more for that sort of thing than he was. Choza shifted slightly, not sure what to say next. Hiashi saved him though.

"I must commend you on your son, a very well brought up young man. Strong. Kind. And yet with an intelligence behind those kind eyes of his. Neji was most impressed on that mission where they went after the Uchiha."

Ignoring the pang of almost losing his son to that mission, Choza just shook his head. Then he remembered that Neji had almost lost his own life on that mission. Hiashi wasn't trying to remind him of a hard time, he was showing that they had experiences in common. Choza's smile brightened as he pushed aside the bad memories and focused on the compliment. "You don't have to sell me on my own son. I'm quite proud of him."

"As you should be." Hiashi said with plain truthfullness. He then nodded and gestured for the bigger man to sit. "Something to drink perhaps? It's a bit early, but it IS a holiday."

After a few moments where the two poured some sake and exchanged more pleasantries, Choza finally sat forward. "You do realize that Hinata has found favor with my wife."

"Ah." Hiashi settled back in his chair, nursing his cup as a sly smile played on his lips. "I'm pleased to hear that. And you? Do you find her …favorable?" He almost held his breath as he waited for the answer.

Choza nodded slowly, halfway having expected such a question. "I find the whole thing unexpected, but in a very good way."

Hiashi chuckled slowly and nodded, much relieved. "I too. I have to admit being surprised that Hinata took the initiative, as shy as I've found her to be. But I couldn't have been more pleased."

The Akimichi nodded, hiding his own surprise. Chouji had long ago explained the whole 'undateable' situation and the three month plan the girls had implemented. He found it amusing that Hiashi seemed unaware of the reasons behind Hinata asking Chouji to the Winter Festival. And he had no intention of telling the Lord Hyuuga either. "Whatever the reason, the outcome could be seen as ….beneficial."

Hiashi nodded, trying to keep a light look of pleasure on his face and not act too enthusiastic. As far as he was concerned, this match was sent from heaven. Still, he managed to keep his voice cool as he asked, "Does your son ever think of the future?"

Choza stilled. The question had been bland, the voice and body gave away nothing, so why did he suddenly feel like they were at a turning point?

o.o.o.o.o

"You're early!" TenTen grinned as she opened the door, then she froze in surprise. "Oops!"

Temari just grimaced, looking furious and miserable all at the same time. "Sorry, wrong Sand sibling."

"No, no." TenTen stepped aside, letting Temari into her small apartment. "Come in."

Temari stopped into the den and looked around at all the Chinese style furniture and bright colors. Everything was tidy, clean …almost perfect. "You do know that my brother's a slob, right?"

TenTen nodded and shrugged. "He has good qualities too."

"Don't tell me about them." Temari faked a smile and waggled her eyebrows lasciviously. "There's some things a sister doesn't need to know about."

"Not THOSE kind of qualities, get your mind out of the sewers." Grimacing, TenTen headed toward the kitchen. "Tea?"

"No." Temari sighed and looked around as if just now realizing where she was. "I shouldn't have come."

"Why did you?" TenTen asked curiously. Then paused as she got no answer. Sighing she ticked them off on her fingers. "Kankuro and Gaara are out because they're guys. Sakura is under enough stress with the whole 'punishment' thing. You and Ino have a history, not that you're not friends, but finding out you were each dating the same guy at the same time still leaves a mark. Hinata has her family luncheon to contend with. So … that leaves …"

"You." Temari finished for her.

"So spill."

Temari couldn't. She just couldn't. Finally she sighed and scratched her shoulder as she looked anywhere but at TenTen. "Who's left on our alternates list? Lee's with Matsuri last I heard."

"Sai's taken up with Anko, though they both swear up and down and sideways that they are NOT dating." TenTen chuckled. "Though, I hear they're breaking the rules every chance they get."

"Look who's talking." Temari said hoarsely, making the other girl stiffen. "No, I'm sorry, that wasn't …I mean …I'd be breaking the rules …if he were interested."

"I thought you and Shino were getting along famously." TenTen sighed, feeling bad for the other kunoichi. "I've never seen him so …I mean, he's actually been looking happy. Trust me when I say that's a first for him, that we've noticed anyway."

"It's over. Don't ask why." Temari hedged, not wanting to explain that _she_ didn't know the why of it all either. "Just …I need to find a date quick. For the festival today."

TenTen grimaced, knowing that finding someone free at this late time would be next to impossible.

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto held Ayame's hand as they headed over to her father's ramen stand for an early lunch before the festival. He grinned and laughed as she smiled shyly over at him.

"I can't believe it!" He crowed happily, not for the first time. "I never thought someone like you would ever look at a guy like me!"

Ayame's soft voice teased him. "What? And miss my chance to go out with the future Hokage of our village? I'd almost given up hope that you'd even notice me."

Naruto's grin got wider as he squeezed her hand lightly, pulling her to a stop. "I like the way you say that."

"How?" She asked, puzzled. "It's no secret that being Hokage is your dream. And it's a fine one too. I've seen you. I know you're not looking for power, but for respect. And to actually protect our village. You love it here. When I was growing up it was so confusing to see people turn away from you for no good reason, and yet you've never let yourself get bitter. And you still look to protect everyone here."

The blond shinobi's grin faded slightly at the edges as he grew serious. At one time he'd not known why he was an outsider among the villagers, especially the older ones. Since learning of the Kyuubi he'd finally started to understand. But the younger generation here in the village did not know of the fact that he held the demon fox sealed within his body.

"Listen, Ayame. There's something …Well, you see …about that …" Naruto stumbled over his own tongue, not wanting to tell her of the Kyuubi. He didn't want to see hate or fear enter her gaze when she looked at him.

Ayame though, had no fears. Not where he was concerned. She put a finger to her lips to shush him, then shook her head. "I asked my father about you, actually more than once." She smiled flirtatiously at him. "He wouldn't tell me why the villagers turned from you at first."

"Oh." Naruto swallowed. Should he tell her? The fewer people who knew of the Kyuubi the safer all the way around. But was it fair to her?

"But my father did say, _look at him …judge him on his own merits, not because of something that happened when he was an infant_." Ayame shrugged. "He wouldn't explain further than that, just said it wasn't your fault. Then, over the years, every now and then he'd point to someone …like Aoli the fruit vendor. And my father would say _look how he treats Naruto now. Remember when he turned away from him? See how Naruto is gaining their trust …their respect_."

Holding his breath, Naruto's eyes widened. "What? Really? I never noticed that!"

Ayame chuckled. "No, you never let it get to you. And when people warmed up, you never told them off or held it against them. You're one of a kind, Naruto."

Feeling bad that she was praising him for things he felt he didn't deserve credit for, Naruto decided to tell her the truth about himself. He wasn't sure she'd be able to see him the same way again, but he didn't want to hide himself from her either. Then he paused. This was a _ninja_ secret. Ayame was a civilian. Would he get in trouble for telling her? Damn all this was making his head hurt!

Ayame though, saved him. "Naruto? You don't have to tell me anything about yourself that you don't want to share. I trust you." She smiled warmly and leaned in to kiss him gently.

With that, Naruto fell out of kind-of-infatuated into totally and completely gone on her.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata spied Chouji and his mother in the gardens and smiled. Hanabi watched her sister's face and looked over at where she was looking. "You're in love, aren't you?" She asked.

Hinata's face fell into shock and turned beet red just as Chouji turned and saw her in the window. Gasping for air, she backed away as she fought not to pass out.

"Yep." Hanabi said smugly as she watched Hinata slump into a nearby chair, not bothering to try and catch her older sister. "You're in love all right."

o.o.o.o.o

Neji opened the front door for his 'date' and steeled his facial expressions into neutral. He looked over at Hana, whom he'd just picked up at her family's compound. All the way back to the Hyuuga residence, he'd been sneaking glances in her direction. He could barely believe it was the same woman.

Hana nervously smoothed out a wrinkle from her simple dress. She'd actually skipped breakfast to go out shopping for an outfit for today, but the way Neji kept looking at her she was sure she'd somehow screwed up big time. Perhaps green wasn't a color the Hyuuga liked or something. It wasn't a racy kind of dress, so she didn't think she was looking inappropriate. Perhaps it wasn't dressy enough?

"Neji?" A voice pulled her from her inner musings. She turned to find herself facing Akimichi Choza and Hyuuga Hiasha. Hana pasted a polite smile on her lips and prayed that there wasn't a stain she didn't know about on her skirt, or something awful stuck in her teeth. Usually she wasn't intimidated by anyone, and she'd dealt with both men before as a veterinarian and a kunoichi. But this …this was different. Somehow it was always different when you were wearing a skirt instead of holding a kunai.

"Ah!" Hiashi's face looked surprised as he greeted her. "Inuzuka Hana? What a pleasure. I didn't know my nephew had such fine taste."

Neji paused, his uncle was so smooth at this! He'd not informed Hiashi of whom he was bringing over today, only that he'd found a date all on his own and didn't need a pity set-up with someone's second cousin or anything. Suddenly, Neji's eyes narrowed. Wait. This wasn't Hiashi's political 'face', the man was genuinely pleased that he'd brought Hana as his date.

This was a shock. Neji's mind raced. Hiashi had always seemed satisfied with TenTen, had even gone so far as to compliment her a time or three over the years. But this …this warm greeting for Inuzuka Hana? It didn't make sense. The Hyuuga and the Inuzuka clans weren't enemies, but nor were they close. In fact, Neji wasn't sure Hiashi even liked Tsume, or her politics. So ….Why? Why was the Hyuuga clan leader fairly glowing with happiness now? Sure Hana looked gorgeous with her hair down like that, and with a dress that hugged every svelte curve lovingly. But Hiashi wouldn't be impressed by that, so what was it?

Neji scowled. This didn't bode well. It couldn't. Especially as he and Hana weren't on a _**real**_ date at all.

o.o.o.o.o

"Konohamaru is too young for you, besides I think he already has a date." TenTen said as the two girls headed over toward a ramen stand to grab some lunch before going to get ready for the festival activities.

Temari grunted and then jerked her head toward a couple at the ramen bar. "Naruto has found his way off probation I see."

TenTen followed her line of sight and smiled at Naruto and Ayame who were looking cozy and romantic as they stared into each other's eyes while waiting for their ramen. "There's always Shikamaru. You could ask …"

"No!" Temari sighed. "No. He's burned that bridge, besides Ino would have a fit."

"Do you care?" TenTen asked curiously. "About Ino's reaction I mean?"

The blond kunoichi sighed as the two girls skipped the ramen stand and headed for a small café instead. Temari had no interest in watching a young couple in love while she felt so damned miserable. "Yes, no …I don't know. I just know it doesn't feel right. So cross him off."

"I …well, how about Neji?" TenTen offered with a blank expression.

Temari shrugged. "He's probably already at that family luncheon, too late to track him down for a date. But thank you for suggesting him, it probably wasn't easy for you."

"Easier than you think." TenTen flashed a mischievous smile. "Get Neji to fall for someone else and I won't feel so bad about heading to Suna."

The blond grimaced. "Well, nuts to that. Who else is there?"

TenTen stopped, putting her hand on Temari's shoulder. "Sasuke."

"No thanks." Temari shook her head.

"No. I mean …there's Sasuke." TenTen pointed with her chin. "And he's sitting all alone …without a date in sight."

o.o.o.o.o

**There's an evil twinkle in my eye ...**

**REVIEWS are always welcome!**


	23. Getting Ready

Tsunade didn't even bother to look up as she held out her hand. Without missing a beat a cold glass was pressed into her waiting palm. With a groan she closed her grip on the homemade hang-over remedy. "About time."

Shizune sighed, used to her Hokage's ways, and ignored the irritability. "So, what did Sakura's mother want?"

"An apology." Groaned Tsunade.

"Well, she didn't get that, so what else did she want?" Came the rather sharp retort.

The blonde managed to crack open one eye and stare balefully at her assistant. "How do you know I didn't apologize?" Shizune just sent her an arch look and Tsunade caved. "Yeah, yeah ...well, after a while she finally managed to get to the point. Seems she's not real thrilled."

A long pause settled over the duo as Tsunade downed her hang-over remedy. Finally Shizune couldn't take it anymore. "Not thrilled, about what? Sakura's punishment? Life in general? Or her usual rant about how evil you are to encourage Sakura in the life of a medical kunoichi?"

Tsunade sighed and rolled the cool glass against her heated forehead. "All of the above, well, except for the punishment. Seems she's okay with sending her daughter to Suna as long as it keeps her out of Kiba's reach."

Shizune shook her head sadly used to the rants by Haruno Tanshi. "So, what are you going to do?"

The Hokage shrugged and finished off her glass, making a dour face. "Did you forget to put in the mint?"

"No, it's in there."

Tsunade sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back. "I told her that if Sakura went to Suna it would be a great opportunity for a wonderful political alliance. The Kazekage and his brother are both still single and friends of Sakura's. And wouldn't it be wonderful if she married one of them?"

Shizune chuckled and flashed an actual smile. "So? So now she wants to keep Sakura here I presume?"

"Oh yeah." Tsunade blinked and allowed a brief smile followed by a groan. "Now she's demanding that I negate Sakura's punishment and NEVER send her to Suna."

"Nicely done." Shizune said gently, then frowned a bit. "Can you do that? What about the council?"

Tsunade groaned and threw her arm over her eyes. "Don't remind me."

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke did not let his surprise appear on his face as he watched TenTen and Temari slip into chairs at his table. All he did was put down his chopsticks and wait patiently for whatever it was they wanted to say. Only, they weren't talking. At least to him.

"The weather is nice for the Winter Festival." Temari stated inanely.

TenTen shrugged. "Personally I wish it would snow. I haven't had to break out my heavy weather clothes yet."

Temari shuddered. "Bite your tongue. I hate the cold here."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at that. "It gets cold in the desert." He stated.

Temari's teal-colored eyes snapped with temper as she looked over at him. "Who asked you?"

The Uchiha blinked and looked at her then looked down at the remains of his half-eaten lunch. "Must you make me explain that it is my table, and you weren't invited?"

Temari ignored him and plucked at her dress as she looked at TenTen. "These ARE my heavy winter clothes. Are you saying it gets colder?"

TenTen shrugged, also ignoring the now glowering Sasuke. "Not so much colder as wetter. Snow can bring a wet cold, then ice storms can be treacherous."

"Ice?" The blonde kunoichi shivered in reaction to the word.

Sasuke sighed and decided that since they were ignoring him, he'd return the favor. Picking up his chopsticks, he was about to take a bite of his lunch when suddenly his chopsticks disappeared and was replaced by a tea cup. The hot tea sloshed over into his food while at another table, a woman was staring in horror at the chopsticks suddenly sitting in her tea saucer.

"If I just ask what it is you want, will you go away?" The former missing-nin asked.

"Only if you agree to it." Temari answered.

Sasuke shook his head. "I won't agree to anything without hearing it first."

"Do you have a date for the Winter Festival?" TenTen asked point blank.

"No. And if you're here to poke fun at me, can you at least wait until I finish my lunch?" He asked, signaling the waiter for an extra pair of chopsticks.

"Temari doesn't have a date either." TenTen continued, then winced at the sharp kick Temari gave her under the table.

Sasuke sat back in his seat, crossing his arms as he eyed the two of them speculatively. "I take it this wouldn't be a real date."

Temari nodded, her chin firmed and her eyes flashing. "You'd better believe it isn't."

"So, what? I thought you were dating bug-boy? Something ...bugging you about Shino?" He asked with a total lack of expression, or concern.

The Sand kunoichi snarled, but kept her mouth shut, letting TenTen take the lead on that one.

"Look, she wants to go to the festival. She no longer has a date and doesn't want to look like she can't get one. You don't have a date, so it's perfect." The weapons kunoichi laid it all out for him.

Sasuke shook his head. "What's in it for me?" He paused and thought it over carefully, finally he nodded. "Find a way for me to get an hour alone with Hyuuga Hinata and I'll do it."

"No." Temari shook her head. "Hinata is a friend, and she's quite happy with who she's dating now. I'll do without a date."

Sitting forward, the last Uchiha made another offer. "Then how about some information on her? Likes and dislikes, places she'll be ...alone. That's not direct interference."

"Close enough." Snarled TenTen as she stood up. "You really are a jerk."

Sasuke shook his head. "Make it worth my while, or Shino will think you're pining for him like a little fangirl. I'd make sure of it as a matter of fact."

I'm not helping you stalk Hinata, so forget it." Temari sighed. "Do your worst, I don't live in this village. Let Shino think what he wants."

"You don't mean that, or you wouldn't be looking in my direction." Sasuke smiled darkly. "So give me something and we will have a deal ...I mean a date."

Temari stood, grabbing her winter cloak and drawing it around her in a soft swirl. "You're not a jerk, you're a snake."

Sasuke smiled widely, throwing out his arms. "I learned from the best."

TenTen scowled. "Don't remind us about Orochimaru, it doesn't help in your quest to make amends here in Konoha. Or to win Hinata's hand."

"Wait." Temari stopped TenTen before the other girl could head for the door.

"See, I knew you'd see it my way." Sasuke yawned. "What will you give me for my help?"

TenTen looked with stunned eyes at her companion. "No! Don't help him!"

Temari looked Sasuke up and down carefully. "You're serious about wanting to stay in Konoha? Marry Hinata and all that nonsense?"

"It's not nonsense." Sasuke avowed. "So, what will it be?"

"A date with me. The Winter Festival." Temari smiled her own evil smile as TenTen just watched with awe as the two fought some sort of war with their gazes. At least Sasuke didn't invoke his bloodline limit. TenTen toyed nervously with the ties on her cloak, waiting to see if she needed to activate them to get to some weapons.

"And how does that help me?" Sasuke challenged.

Temari shrugged negligently. "You get to be seen in Konoha acting like a normal human being instead of a traitor or all around monster. Hinata gets to see you acting innocent, and puts you in the context of a non-threat. It's a lie, but there you go."

Sasuke thought about it then nodded, stood and held out his hand. Temari shook it once as he looked at her. "And Shino gets to see you're not hurt about the break-up. It's a lie, but there you go."

Temari nodded and bit her tongue.

TenTen sighed, getting a bad feeling about this. "Well, as long as you two understand each other." She muttered under her breath.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba winced at the slamming of the door, he then peered around his pink-haired girlfriend to make sure the wood hadn't splintered. "Saruka?"

A second wince followed the first as she grabbed his hand with a bit too much force. "Whoa! I need those fingers!"

"Sorry." She muttered and loosened her grip, but didn't slow down until they were at least a block away from her home. "My mother is a cow."

Kiba shook his head sadly and pulled her to a stop. "What now? Another lecture on retiring from being a kunoichi? Sakura, she's not evil, she doesn't want you in danger. She's not that bad."

"She wanted to send me Suna so I couldn't see you anymore."

Kiba stopped, stared at her, then whispered. "She's a cow."

The look on her boyfriend's face was too much, he was so adorable sometimes. Sakura started to giggle, then couldn't seem to stop. Akamaru 'woofed' up at her in question, then looked at Kiba who was just as confused about all this as his nin-dog. "Uh, Sakura? You okay?"

Her arms were around him as she hugged him tight, his arms wrapping around her as well. "I love you." Teased his suddenly red ears as she laughed, delighting in his embrace. "The Hokage took care of it, I don't have to go to Suna. She's sending Watari Ukyo instead. He's good though, one of the top students and a genius with surgery."

Sakura pulled back, still smiling as she grasped Kiba's hand ready to head toward the Winter Festival. It was still early, but she liked going before all the dancing started. This way she got to see what the vendors had out special before all the good stuff was picked through. Only, she was brought up short when Kiba didn't move. Stumbling, she nearly fell. Sakura looked up at Kiba and her smile faded as she saw the stony look on his face. "Kiba?"

But the Inuzuka dog-ninja wasn't moving, Sakura got worried when he didn't even blink. "Kiba?" She asked again, this time giving his hand a squeeze. When that didn't work she waved her free hand in front of his face. Still no reaction.

Sakura looked down at Akamaru, but the nin-dog only whimpered and laid down at Kiba's side looking pitiful. "Big help you are." The pink-haired kunoichi mumbled. Finally she took Kiba's shoulders and shook him a bit. Finally fangs flashed and eyes narrowed as he growled.

"What did you say?" He asked gruffly.

Sakura turned his chin first one way, then the other. "It doesn't appear to be a seizure."

Kiba slapped her hand away. "No, earlier, what did you say?"

"About what? My mother's a cow? You knew that."

"After that." Kiba insisted.

Sakura sighed and shook her head. "I don't have to go to Suna. I thought you'd be happier about that. Why? Are you trying to get rid of me? Or do you secretly have a crush on Watari Ukyo? He has a fiance already, so you're out of luck. I hear she'll be going to Suna with him, though she's a civilian. Her father's a book merchant."

"Shut up." Kiba snapped, making Sakura's bright green eyes narrow on him in irritation.

"What?" She growled, tapping one foot dangerously.

Kiba grabbed her shoulders this time, making her frown in confusion. "What did you say to me?" She opened her mouth to answer when he squeezed his hands slightly. "No, not about some stupid medical nin. Before that but after the part about your mother."

Sakura shook her head. "You've gone nuts. I didn't say anything else ..." Then she clapped both hands over her mouth in horror as she heard a replay of her own whispered voice in her head. She'd told him she loved him. It'd just slipped out of nowhere.

Kiba nodded slowly as he watched her realization. "Did you mean it?"

"I didn't ...I mean I don't ...it just slipped out!" She wailed. "I'm sorry!"

"What about Sasuke?" He asked, his voice hoarse.

Shocked, she pulled back, looking at him like he was the crazy one. "What does he have to do with this?" She bellowed, furious. "I thought we finished that in the hospital."

Kiba growled, making Akamaru cover his eyes with his paws and whimper. "You broke that broom handle to hell and gone when you heard he was looking to date Hinata. Remember? It was only yesterday!"

"I told you I was just surprised!" She screamed back at him, her eyes growing wide with anger and embarrassment. "It didn't mean anything!"

"You're still hung up on him!" Kiba accused poking a finger at her.

Sakura made a grab for his finger, but he moved back just enough to keep her from breaking his bones. "I AM NOT! I'M IN LOVE WITH **YOU**!"

Kiba sneered. "But I thought you didn't mean it! You said it just slipped out!"

"I lied!" Sakura shoved him in the chest, knocking him back three steps. "I'm in love with you, idiot!"

"Oh yeah! I remember when you _loved_ Sasuke!"

The sharp crack of the slap, followed by the 'thud' of Kiba's body being knocked head over heels to roll into a nearby fence was the next sound to be heard. Akamaru yelped and jumped up, visibly torn from wanting to go after Kiba and not knowing if he should attack Sakura. But he LIKED Sakura. Luckily, his canine brain was saved by a whistle from Kiba.

"Down boy." Kiba said as he spat out dirt and bark.

"Oh KIBA!" Sakura wailed running over to him, sinking to her knees beside him. "Oh, Kiba, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!" She continued to apologize over and over again, raining his face with kisses as she cupped his face in her hands. "Please, please ...are you okay? Oh Kiba!"

"Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl stopped mid-chant and looked at him. She had one instant to wonder why he was grinning from ear to ear and then she was lost as he grabbed her and kissed her like there was no tomorrow. Long moments turned into long minutes before Sakura could breathe again, with breath though came thought. She pulled back and stared at him. "Aren't you mad at me?"

"How can I be mad that the girl I love is in love with me and is willing to fight for me?" Kiba whispered and pulled her closer. "Kiss me."

She did and breathing was no longer something either cared much about.

o.o.o.o.o

Yamanaka Chiyo opened the door and smiled at the red-headed young man standing there with flowers. Hyacinths, both white and purple. "My, how lovely!" She smiled at him. "You must be Gaara and those are lovely flowers, and out of season. You must have gone to one of the greenhouses."

Gaara paused mid-step, his pale-jade eyes going to her face. Had he done something wrong with the flowers? Should he have bought them from the Yamanaka store? "I wanted them to be a surprise." He offered almost hesitantly.

Chiyo chuckled happily. "Young man, never apologize for bringing flowers. And it is true that for it to be a surprise, you don't come to the store where the young woman's mother works." Her smile was warm and welcoming. Gaara started to relax in spite of himself. "Have you had lunch?"

He shook his head, never thinking of not telling the truth. His stomach hadn't felt right all day and food was the last thing on his mind.

"Ino will be a few more minutes, why don't you sit down and I'll serve you something light." Chiyo ushered him into the kitchen. "You don't want to wander the festival on an empty stomach, some of the vendors aren't as good as what you'll get here." She said with simple pride.

Gaara took a seat, unsure of himself. Maybe he should have arranged to meet Ino at the festival. He wasn't good with parents. Or at least, he didn't think he was. The women he'd gone out with over the years had usually been older, more experienced, or ...well, none had ever invited him to meet their parents.

"Here you go, dear. Oh excuse me, Kazekage-domo." Chiyo placed a shabu-shabu dish in front of him and Gaara's eyes widened. This was her idea of something light?

"Just Gaara, please." He managed as he tasted the dish, the flavors almost melting on his tongue. Gaara didn't know what made it taste so good, his cook at home was excellent, but this ...this just tasted ...right.

Chiyo smiled and sat down across from him, she looked over at the bouquet of flowers he'd put down beside him on the table. "Do you know that flowers have a language?"

Gaara nearly choked and quickly took another bite of his food to keep from having to answer.

"White hyacinths mean loveliness." Chiyo continued. "Is that food hot enough for you?"

Gaara nodded absently wondering what she'd say if he admitted he'd meant 'loveliness' with the flowers? Would she be angry?

"And purple hyacinths mean 'I'm sorry' or 'please forgive me'." Chiyo smiled and got up to pour Gaara some more tea. She put it beside him with a soft pat to his shoulder. "So, why do you want to tell Ino that she's lovely, and yet that you're sorry?"

He really did choke then. Coughing and sputtering it took him a few moments to regain his breath, when he did he stared at Ino's mother with something akin to horrified awe. "How ...?"

She laughed and winked at him. "I'm the wife and mother of at least three mind control specialists, and my youngest is showing signs of that tendency himself so that will make four. I may not be a kunoichi, but I can hold my own. I wasn't sure though, until I got _**that**_ reaction."

Instead of getting embarrassed, Gaara narrowed his eyes dangerously. "You're good."

"You don't lie well, do you?" She smiled kindly at him. "I guess you don't have to what with the whole 'ultimate weapon' reputation you have."

Gaara sighed and nodded. "It does help."

"Except when meeting mothers." Her smile grew.

Gaara's lips quirked upward briefly as he nodded in agreement.

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji swallowed hard as he caught sight of Hinata coming down the stairs. She'd never looked more beautiful than she did right now. Her pale-lavender eyes fairly gleamed and her hair shone against her silken kimono.

Choza stood a little taller as he watched, then he turned to Hiashi as they watched from the door of the library. "Are those the Akimichi clan colors on her obi?"

Hiashi shrugged lightly. "It seems so. I have to admit I don't choose my daughter's clothing. I did not know of this."

"It's a last minute change." Hanabi yawned as she walked up to them. "Hinata and I were up all night working on it."

"Oh?" Choza asked, amused.

"It's to let a certain Uchiha know where he stands. Which is nowhere." Hanabi smiled smugly.

Hiashi stiffened. "Sasuke?"

Hanabi blinked owlishly up at her father. "Well, of course, he is the ONLY Uchiha left you know."

Hiashi's eyes flashed dangerously and Hanabi backed off, but in order to divert his temper from her, she offered a sacrificial lamb. "Sasuke's declared that he wants to marry Hinata."

o.o.o.o.o

"Ahem."

Sakura and Kiba laughed as they pulled apart, her cheeks nearly as pink as her hair.

TenTen grinned as Kankuro laughed at them. "Having fun?"

"It IS a holiday!" Kiba grinned and laughed as Sakura hid her head in the crook of his shoulder.

"Payback, Sakura." TenTen crowed. "I should ask Sai to draw this and scene and post it around the whole village!"

Sakura looked up and bit back a laugh of her own. "Only if you want a picture of you in Temari's clothing making the rounds."

"You wouldn't!" Gasped the weapons kunoichi.

Kiba held out his hands. "Hey, hey ...no fighting. The last fight took all night to clean-up!"

Kankuro laughed and settled an arm around TenTen. "You never know, it could happen again. Any bets on a third fight?"

"No, those two twits are still in the hospital!" Sakura frowned. "Ino took them apart all on her own that second time, no wasting time and no more damage to the village. But hey, they attacked her."

"No one's blaming her for the second fight, in fact, the second fight should help PROVE Ino wasn't being irresponsible in fighting them. It shows the council that Harumi and Suzue should bear the most of the blame." Kankuro shrugged, as if it didn't matter much to him. He'd washed his hands of those two fangirl kunoichi. "However, they were getting ready to be released from the hospital around lunch today. So, you might want to rein it in if you see them. Sakura, you can't afford to get caught fighting within the village again."

Kiba grimaced. "Too true. I don't want to have to wait until a mission to Suna to get to see you."

Sakura laughed. "I'm okay right now, the Hokage fixed everything."

"Not everything." TenTen sighed. "Ino's still stuck here in Konoha, they're sending a different medic. I found out when I was getting my permission papers to travel to Suna."

"Ouch." Sakura pulled a face. "That's ...just wrong. Shizune told me that Tsunade had fixed things so I wouldn't have to go to Suna, but she said they were still working on Ino's case."

Kankuro shook his head, but kept silent. He didn't want to expose any weakness in his Kazekage, who was also his younger brother. But he didn't like the tightness around Gaara's eyes or mouth ever since Ino's request to teach at the hospital in Suna had been denied.

"That's not all that's wrong." TenTen shook her head. "Shino's acting all stupid all of a sudden."

"Shino? Stupid?" Kiba laughed. "Those words don't go together. Now 'stiff' or 'uptight' THOSE I could agree with."

TenTen pinned him with a cold look. "He dumped Temari and won't tell her why."

Kiba blinked and fell silent as the others exclaimed and puzzled over the Aburame heir's behavior. Kiba though, Kiba _knew_ Shino. Something wasn't right. He'd never seen his teammate happier than he'd been this past month. Never. His musings were interrupted as he overheard something that made his stomach drop ...Sasuke's name. "Wait. What about Sasuke? Hold up!"

TenTen frowned over at him. "Sasuke is going to be Temari's date for the Winter Festival."

Kiba's eyes went wide. He looked at Sakura and kissed her briefly. "Meet me by the Yamanaka flower shop in one hour."

"What? Why? Kiba!" She yelled after him, but he was already speeding off. "Kiba?" She whispered.

TenTen's eyes were big as she looked at Kankuro. "Do you think he heard the part where I told you guys that it wasn't a _real _date? That Sasuke and Temari aren't really dating?"

Kankuro was too busy laughing to answer.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well, I didn't get everything in that I wanted, but there's SO MUCH MORE to the Winter Festival to come ...Like Neji, Shikamaru (yes, he'll be there), Sasuke, Temari ... and Shino. Oh, and a few others ... LOL!**

**I didn't want to cut down those scenes, so they'll be in the next chapter. **

**Thanks!**


	24. Kiba's Big Mouth

Kiba's nose was unerring as he followed his teammate's scent toward …where else? The Aburame family compound. Ignoring the gate guards, Kiba and Akamaru yelped in delight as they jumped over the startled shinobi and raced toward Shino's position.

The Aburame heir was brooding, though he just called it thinking, as he stared out at the bare branches of the tree hanging over a pond. His insects buzzed a warning seconds before he felt the chakra presence bounding towards him. Giving a sigh, he turned and braced himself as Kiba ran at him full tilt, the Aburame guards only steps behind him.

"Stand down." Shino sighed, as Kiba slid to a halt beside him, barely missing falling into the frigid waters of the pond that had yet to freeze over. Kiba grinned at the grumbling guards as they muttered, but one look from Shino had them heading back to their posts. "Who's at the gate, if you're all here?"

"Ioki and he signaled the main house." Came the terse reply, though the tone of voice was respectful enough.

Shino grunted and nodded. "Good job."

The men stood a bit prouder and were less grumbly as they strode off, though one did shoot one final irritated look toward a grinning Kiba.

The bug-nin shook his head at his teammate. "You have a death wish? You know how private my clan can be."

"Too private." Kiba's grin faded. "Way too private. So private you can't even give a girl an excuse for dumping her?"

Shino winced and looked away, though he said nothing.

"Look, it's not my business …"

"Correct." Came the snapped response from Shino.

Kiba chuckled and nudged his teammate with one shoulder. "You kept me from looking foolish back when this whole 'three months' thing happened. Now, let me return the favor. Help you back into Temari's good graces."

Shino turned and stared hard at Kiba, though his eyes were still hidden and his expression showed nothing. A ninja's mask of utter boredom.

The Inuzuka growled low in his throat and flashed a brief glimpse of fangs. "Now, before you say you don't want back in her good graces, I'll call you a liar to your face. I may not be able to see your damned eyes, but I can smell you, hear your heartbeat, and damn it all, I know when you're happy. And you've been happy with her. HAPPY! An actual emotion out of an Aburame! A miracle in the making!"

"Are you quite done yet?" Droned Shino, irritated.

"Not until you admit you're in love with her." Kiba taunted him belligerently. "I know you are, so don't you dare deny it!"

Shino sighed. "I won't."

"It's no use denying …oh, well fine then." Kiba stumbled over his tongue. "At least deny it a few times, I have arguments all lined up and ready to go."

"I'm not listening to this." Shino said and turned away, only to be brought up short by a snarling Akamaru. He eyed the nin-dog warily, knowing what a fierce warrior the dog could be. "Kiba?"

"Why are you doing this?" The Inuzuka whined. "Why kick loose the one person who makes your heart speed up like a …a …"

"Like yours with Sakura?" Shino muttered, still keeping a weather eye on the nin-dog. But Akamaru didn't growl unless he tried to step away. So he fell still. "Seems you want me to listen. And I don't want to have to hurt your dog."

Kiba sniffed. "You've warmed up to Akamaru over the years, don't think I don't notice you slipping him extra bacon in the mornings when our missions are done."

Shino didn't deny it, but nor did he confirm it. He did relax a bit though, making Akarmaru pant and sit down looking far less fierce than he had a moment ago.

"Well, if you want to let go of the girl you love. I won't stop you." Kiba baited his teammate, setting a trap.

Shino sensed the trap, but was unsure where the teeth lay. Hesitantly he nodded. "Good."

"You'll mope and she'll move on. Date others. Maybe even fall in love with someone else." Kiba continued, rocking back on his heels a bit as he whistled.

The visual of Temari dating someone else did not appeal. But Shino refused to jump at the bait. "That's good." He lied through his teeth.

"In fact. She already has a date for the Winter Festival." Kiba slipped the verbal blade straight into Shino's heart.

The Aburame caught his breath. So soon? Who was it? Was she seeing someone he knew?

"Seems she's stepping out today with Sasuke. You remember him, right?"

Shino said nothing, but the air around them suddenly crackled with an angry buzzing noise. The winter bared branches of the trees around them fairly shook with fury as Kiba watched Shino with suddenly wide eyes. Akamaru whined, dropped to the ground and whimpered. Kiba felt the escalation of Shino's chakra and could sense the whipping of thousands upon thousands of wings within his teammate's body as the agitated kikai stirred frighteningly..

The Inuzuka watched as the Aburame left without a word, one moment there and the next moment, gone. Suddenly he felt a bit unsure. What had he just set in motion? Shino was a quiet pond, cold, deep, and unknowable. Kiba's bravado vanished into the wind as he looked down at his nin-dog, who whined up at him in worry.

Kiba motioned and Akamaru followed as they headed back to the village proper. What had he just set loose upon Konoha? An Aburame _without_ his perfect control over his emotions? Had he just gotten someone killed? Much as he didn't care for Sasuke, _this_ hadn't been what he'd intended when he'd come here to confront Shino.

He needed help, and he needed it quickly.

o.o.o.o.o

The luncheon was delicious and the conversation light and pleasant. But Chouji noticed nothing of this, so focused was he on how gorgeous the young woman next to him looked. How sweet she smelled and how wonderful he felt in her presence.

Hinata looked over at him, her cheeks rosy with something other than embarrassment. She caught his gaze and reading his admiration, shyly she offered him a smile. The flash of her smile had him swallowing hard, his chopsticks hanging in mid-air.

Hanabi sighed with disgust and winked over at Neji. "Hinata? Stop smiling at him, or he'll never finish eating his meal."

Everyone laughed as Hinata's rosy cheeks went beet red and her eyes dropped to her own plate. Chouji though, he didn't laugh as he reached out and touched her hand under the table. Her fingers trembled slightly then turned to allow him to hold her hand.

"Hanabi." Came the warning from her father, and the young genin settled down. Though she looked far too pleased with herself.

Asami laughed and tutted her tongue at Hiashi. "She's a younger sister, they're _supposed_ to tease."

Choza chuckled and shook his head. "My wife's sisters followed us everywhere when we were courting. Pests, every one of them, even the older ones."

"Yes, well." Hiashi sniffed, and gave Hanabi a telling glance. "As my heir, I expect a higher standard. I'm sure you understand."

Choza shrugged and when Hiashi had turned to make a comment to Asami, he winked jovially over at Hanabi. The genin nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't interrupt her father's retelling of some family story or the other.

"I like your kimono." Chouji told Hinata, who bit her bottom lip as she nodded shyly. Her fingers twitched, then settled down as he gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "Especially your choice of obi." He'd about burst with pride earlier when he seen that she'd chosen to wear HIS clan colors on the sash around her kimono.

Hinata nodded, then sighed. "Father's really upset about S …Sasuke." She whispered for his ears only. "If there wasn't a family luncheon and a festival, I'd think he'd already be out there hunting him down."

Chouji gave a sigh of his own and squeezed her hand lightly under the table. He needed a change in subject matter. Sasuke was not someone he wanted to think about right now. Nor did he want Hinata dwelling on the Uchiha. "You haven't opened your gift yet."

The long-haired kunoichi shook her head slightly as she eyed the gaily wrapped package next to her plate. She didn't want to open his gift to her in front of everyone. She wanted to do it privately.

"I liked the present you gave me." He smiled as he remembered the leather wallet he'd unwrapped earlier. "You even put a yen inside so it wouldn't bring bad luck. I didn't know you were superstitious."

"I'm not." She whispered, glancing down the table to make sure no one was listening to them. "I …I just didn't want to take any chances. I don't ...I don't want to lose this."

"This?" He asked, curious.

Hinata blushed deeper as she looked everywhere but at him.

Chouji smiled and ran his thumb over the sensitive skin of her palm. "You mean this? Us?" He prayed that he was right and not making a fool of himself.

Hinata looked up at him with her pale-lavender eyes and Chouji caught his breath as he saw the depth of emotion behind her lovely gaze. He groaned and squeezed her hand tighter, leaning toward her. She swayed toward him.

Hanabi, watching and fighting not to roll her eyes or make snarky comments, realized that they were going to kiss in front of EVERYONE if something didn't stop them. Thinking quickly, she coughed and kicked Chouji under the table.

The Akimichi heir jumped slightly as Hinata frowned over at her younger sister, irritated.

Hiashi and the others looked over at them, the Hyuuga clan leader frowning sharply. "Is something the matter?"

Hanabi smiled wanly and apologized. "I'm sorry, I just slipped."

"Slipped?" Hiashi asked suspiciously. "You're a ninja for heaven's sake. We don't just 'slip'."

Hanabi shrugged negligently and went back to her meal, gratified to see that Chouji and Hinata did as well. The two were blushing furiously over their almost-kiss in front of family, and were staring only at their own plates.

Choza looked at Hanabi and raised an eyebrow, then looked over at his son and Hinata and watched as they studiously ignored each other. He coughed to cover his laugh and turned back to engage Hiashi in conversation once more.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino bumped her hand into Gaara's, brushing against him deliberately as they walked through the village marketplace heading for the temple area. He didn't pick up on her cue though she'd done it three times now. She frowned as he gave her an odd look and put an extra inch between them. He looked down at her high heeled boots. "New shoes?"

Irate, Ino shook her head, her eyes snapping as she looked away from him.

Gaara watched her, unsure of why she was acting angry all of a sudden. "What?"

"Nothing." She snapped at him.

The red-head sighed and stopped, letting others pass them on their way to the temple for the start of the Winter Festival. "It's the flowers, isn't it?"

Ino frowned, shaking her head. "No, they were lovely. You saw me put them in a vase and arrange them."

"You're good at that. Arranging flowers." Gaara offered tentatively.

If anything his words didn't help as she crossed her arms to glare at him.

"What did I do?" Gaara asked point blank. "The white hyacinths were meant as a compliment. You ARE lovely. Even when you're angry by the way." He paused and took a breath. "The purple hyacinths are an apology."

Ino sighed and let her temper recede back as she gave him a small smile. "No, it's not the flowers. And you don't need to apologize. So Tsunade has agreed to send a different medic to Suna? She could still change her mind before you leave."

Now Gaara stilled, letting his gaze slide away from hers.

The blonde kunoichi stiffened in apprehension. "What?"

He sighed, still looking off into the distance. "I can't stay any longer. Some things have come up at home and …and I'll be leaving for Suna tomorrow." He didn't tell her that he really shouldn't have stayed this long and should have been back home a week ago.

Suddenly feeling hollow, Ino shook her head in denial. "Nooo."

"That's why the purple hyacinths." Gaara's jade-pale eyes finally met hers. "I'm sorry. But …I'm the Kazekage and some things just have to ….Ino, I'm sorry." More sorry than he cared to admit to her actually. He'd never felt this vulnerable before. Not when water jutsu had torn apart his sand defenses. Not even when he'd died. Right now, in this moment, he felt more exposed and weak than he'd ever felt in his life.

Ino's eyes misted up as she bit her tongue to keep from pleading with him to stay. It wouldn't help matters any. He was the Kazekage of his village. They depended on him. She knew that. She knew this life, hell she was a kunoichi herself. Duty before all. Suddenly, being mad at him for not picking up her signals to hold her hand seemed damned petty.

"One night?" Ino asked with false brightness.

Gaara eyed her nervously. She sounded …odd. He gave a brief nod. "I couldn't leave without taking you to the Winter Festival. You've been looking forward to it all month." And he'd been looking forward to spending the festival with her.

Ino looked away and caught sight of Kankuro and TenTen with Sakura heading in their direction. The trio were all talking animatedly and hadn't noticed them yet.

Without thinking it through, Ino grabbed Gaara's hand and pulled him along behind her. Away from the others. Away from the temple. And away from the festival.

"What?"

"Jonquil." She hissed, pulling him down one alley, then up to the rooftops.

Gaara's mind raced. Jonquil? "Sympathy?" He asked, wondering why she wanted to express that. She didn't answer as she led him back toward his guest apartments. Gaara didn't understand. Why were they here?

"Open it." She told him, then stepped aside as he let them into his apartments while staying in Konoha.

"No one's here." He told her, puzzled at her odd behavior. "They're all at the Winter Festival." _Like we should be_, he mused.

"Jonquil." She repeated, then backed him into the closed door. Crowding him. Her front brushed against his chest and his eyes widened.

"It doesn't mean 'sympathy' does it?" Gaara asked as she leaned in and loosened his heavy winter cloak, letting it slide toward the floor without a thought.

Ino shook her head and reached for his hands, slipping them up under her own cloak. His fingers tightened on the silkiness of her dress. He decided he didn't need to know what was going on after all, instead, pulling her in for a deep kiss. He groaned loudly as heat enveloped them both.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari frowned sharply as she walked next to her 'date'. The temple celebrations had opened the festival and now things should be in full swing. Masked dancers with sparkling fireworks where in the streets as people watched and enjoyed themselves. The scent of food was everywhere, and so was the loudness of those imbibing too deeply. Fun was all around them. Children were laughing. Women were giggling. Dancers were dancing. And everyone was having the time of their lives.

On the other hand, Temari sent a stony glare to the man beside her, she'd never been more miserable. "You suck." She informed him.

Sasuke shrugged, he really didn't care what she thought. "It's not a real date."

"You still suck." She told him with a brittle smile. "Even a fake date wouldn't make me pay for the dango sticks."

"You asked me, you pay." Sasuke grinned over at her, then waved at someone in the crowd. "Hey you're right. People are being nicer to me now that they see me on a regular date. Good call."

Temari sighed and watched the dancers pass by them, the drums drowning out any need to speak.

Sasuke nudged her. "Smile. You look like I've just killed your pet kitten. I want people to forget about not liking me."

"Then buy me a drink." Temari snarled, her teal-colored eyes flashing dangerously. "Something with enough alcohol to make me forget that I'm out with _you_."

Sasuke leaned into her, putting an arm around her and drawing her close as he smiled. Then stepped away before she could elbow him, or gut him, whichever struck her fancy first. "Sorry, saw one of the council members."

"So far you're the only one getting any benefit from this stupid date." She hissed at him.

"Shino's here." He said under his breath.

Temari stiffened, fighting not to look around. It took her a moment, what with the crowd, and the fact that Shino was hiding his chakra signature …but there he was, on the opposite corner, shaded by the alleyway and his natural ability to fade into the background.

The blonde let her body relax one muscle at a time. "Kiss me." She cooed over at the Uchiha jerk, her entire body language changing in a second.

Sasuke gave her a look that stated plainly that he thought she was nuts. "Isn't it enough that he sees you out with someone else?"

"No. Kiss me." She insisted, grabbing the edges of his cloak and pulling herself into him. Temari batted her eyes at him and whispered. "I'll kill you where you stand if you don't kiss me right now. Oh sure, you could fight me, but it would put a BIG dent in your efforts to look 'harmless' tonight."

Sasuke sighed, thinking it over. "One kiss, then you buy the drinks."

"Cheapskate." She teased.

His lips descended upon hers.

Temari frowned. _This_ was a kiss? Yeah, right. Idly she wondered how many girls Sasuke had kissed and why none of them had taught him any better than this. Ugh.

Sasuke grinned. She felt so good in his arms. He'd been a bit nervous, as this was his first real kiss - that time with Naruto in school did NOT count. After his defection from Konoha, his time had been spent searching for vengeance, not love. Romance hadn't entered into it at all. Maybe he should ask Temari out for real sometime? She was cute in a wierd sort of way.

Her eyes open, and totally bored with the kiss Temari started counting the number of blue ogre masked dancers that passed them, hoping to break away soon.

Sasuke pulled her closer. "Are you purring?"

Statled, Temari pulled back. "Purring? Are you crazy?" Then she stilled as she heard it too. Only, it wasn't purring she was hearing. Turning she caught sight of the kikai bugs filling the air around them.

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai was having a nice time. Her child was with a reliable babysitter and hadn't even been throwing a tantrum when she'd left. She'd been able to fit into a size smaller dress than she could have two months ago and she looked damned good if she did say so herself.

She was chatting amicably with Gai and Kakashi while sending small flirtatious looks to the man standing just three feet away. And he was looking back. Delicious.

Suddenly she was pulled hard as someone grabbed her wrist. "Emergency!"

Kurenai dug in her heels and jerked back, but he had the momentum and she was yanked in the opposite direction. Off balance, she fought to keep her feet as she broke the grip holding her. "Kiba?! What the hell?"

"Shino's gone mad." Kiba replied breathlessly, looking desperate.

The kunoichi laughed and rubbed her wrist. "Yeah, yank the other leg why don't you. This prank would have been more believable if Shino had said you were the one who'd gone mad."

"Sensei. This is code 3." Kiba whispered, making her stomach drop in sudden worry.

Kurenai took off without a backward glance, knowing her former student wouldn't use their old code system for a mere prank. Code 3? She'd made it up for her team so that when she said that they were to go quiet and listen, because death was imminent and circumstances were dire. She'd never had them use it on her before though!

Gai watched her disappear, then looked behind him at the trio of shinobi standing there talking. "I'd wager she was flirting with Iruka. He's nice."

"Too nice." Kakashi muttered. "It had to be Genma. Excuse me." He finished, tossing aside his grilled squid and following after Kurenai and Kiba. The expression on her face when she'd left had been grim.

Gai shook his head as his eternal rival left. "No sense of romance. Girl's like nice guys. He's wrong."

Iruka turned at the small commotion, but then returned to his conversation. "The chuunin exams this year are going to be rather large. With Suna's Academy now operating about the size of our own, we're going to need better ways of weeding out the ones that aren't ready yet."

Genma nodded, the senbon in his mouth bobbed slightly. "I agree." He turned to the third member of their group. "You get them first. Any ideas on how to step up the culling process?"

Iruka objected to the word 'culling' and the two men started arguing lazily and without heat.

Morino Ibiki was glad they were entertaining themselves. He felt …a bit lost. Had Kurenai been signaling him? Or …no, she couldn't have been flirting. Could she? No, surely not. He shook his head sadly. Ibiki was a proud man, but he knew he wasn't exactly a magnet for good looking women like Kurenai. He shook off the moment and returned to the conversation with Iruka and Genma.

o.o.o.o.o

Neji was enjoying himself, and was rather surprised by that fact. Hana was fun, funny, and as he looked over at her making faces at a vendor's pet monkey, sexy as hell. He wondered how she managed to look so sexy and hot while playing with a monkey for heaven's sake!

Hana bought a treat for the monkey she'd been having fun with and laughed as he made a grab for the piece of fruit. "Ah, ah, ah! Patience is difficult to master, but ….good things come to those who …WAIT!" On that last word the monkey got tired of waiting, grabbed the fruit and scrammed up the gutter to the roof to savor his purloined treat. "You little thief!"

Neji laughed at her sour expression. "Good things also come to those who seize the opportunity it seems, rather than merely wait." Then he paused, digesting his own words. Finally he grabbed her hand. "It's time."

Puzzled, Hana looked over at his small smirk and raised an eyebrow in response. "Time?"

He leaned into her, letting his heated breath tickle her ear a moment. "Kissing? We had a deal, remember?"

The Inuzuka heir laughed and tugged at a lock of his hair that was tickling her cheek. "Beginner lessons."

Neji grinned. "I'll take what I can get."

Hana eyed him speculatively, grinning widely as he tugged her into a secluded corner and found a small bench. No one was watching them, the dancing was in the street, not back where they were now seated.

Suddenly face to face with each other, and as alone in a crowd as they could get, the humor faded. Staring at each other, Neji took a deep breath. "You don't have to …"

"Shut up." She growled like a nin-dog, captured his face in her hands and leaned in to kiss him.

Neji's pale skin heated up fast as his arms went first to her shoulders, and then tightly around her. His lips parted and she took advantage, and stole his breath away.

Long moments passed just like that before they broke away to breathe. Neji panted a bit as he reluctantly let her go. "Those are beginners kisses?"

Hana nodded, wondering where the hell all that heat had come from? Sure the Hyuuga was good looking, but she'd never expected to feel _this_ kind of reaction to him. He'd been one surprise after another all night long.

Neji blew away an errant strand of his long dark hair. "I'm not sure I can survive the intermediate kisses. In fact, I don't think I'm very good at the beginning ones."

She quirked a look at him as if he were an idiot.

Neji grinned. "In fact, I think I need more practice before moving on."

"Oh!" Hana breathed out, a chuckle escaping her just before his lips found hers this time around.

o.o.o.o.o

Choza sat next to Hiashi as they watched the dancing and enjoyed a not-so-quiet festival. He caught the Hyuuga clan leader's sudden grin and gave him a questioning look.

Hiashi shrugged. "Neji and the Inuzuka girl are …having fun." He hedged.

The Akimichi laughed jovially, his whole body shaking with mirth as he grinned. "It must be a good thing to have the Byakugan when keeping an eye on children."

The Hyuuga nodded sagely and took another sip of his drink. "It helps." He said blandly.

"And Hinata?"

Hiashi looked over at Choza and lifted his cup in a toast. "Over by the sweet shop."

Choza sighed and shook his head sadly. "Oh well."

"But it's not the sweets he's interested in." Hiashi allowed himself to smile and caught Choza's indrawn breath of understanding.

The Akimichi nodded and tried to peer through the crowd at the couple, but couldn't see a thing through the mob of people. "You're not angry with him?"

Hiashi took his eyes off the young man currently kissing his eldest daughter senseless. "On the contrary. If he didn't try to steal a moment or two alone with her, I'd be more worried. Don't frown so, I've judged that he has a good head on his shoulders. He won't take things too far."

Choza relaxed a bit and chuckled, shaking his head. "And you're keeping an 'eye' on things to make sure he doesn't. Yes?"

"I am a father." Came the droll response. "With daughters."

Choza nodded. "Perhaps we two could meet at a more sober occasion and talk things over in a more _permanent_ light?"

Hiashi held his breath a moment, then nodded as he tried to keep the joy out of his eyes.

The Akimichi looked down at his own drink. "My son is …the best in my eyes, I'll admit. But …you're daughter could look higher." He finished off his cup and looked seriously over at the Hyuuga clan leader. "Tell me why I shouldn't be worried that you're so thrilled with this match."

Hiashi shrugged, giving in. "I've not seen my daughter smile like that before. I like that look on her face. I like her like this."

Choza nodded. He knew there was another reason, but the look in Hiashi's eyes was open and honest enough to appease him for now. "I see my wife is calling for me, I'll be back in a moment."

Hiashi nodded and waved the man away as he watched Asami drag Choza over to a vendor selling festival mementoes.

"That's not a full explanation." The voice startled Hiashi as he deactivated his Byakugan and gave Neji and Hinata and their dates a bit of privacy. "I'm your heir, I need to understand these things."

The Hyuuga sighed and gestured for Hanabi to take Choza's empty seat. "You're too young."

"I'm a genin now and taking active missions." She countered. "And this is _my_ family, the family that I will someday head. You've shared the other dealings of the clan with me, why not this?"

"Truth?" Hiashi paused. "It's personal."

Hanabi shook her head. "You're too smug about Hinata falling for Chouji. And you have that same look in your eyes when you look at Inuzuka Hana. Why? I don't trust you to just be glad that they're happy."

"You overstep yourself." Hiashi cut her off sharply, then rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation. She was right though, Hanabi was his heir and she needed to be aware of such things.

Hanabi was about to leave when his voice caught her. His words were low, almost too low to catch. "You've never asked why I didn't curse seal you."

"I'm your heir." She caught her breath. Truth was she'd always been afraid to ask this question. First to keep his attention off the fact that she didn't have it, then after being named heir she didn't ask so that he wouldn't put in on Hinata.

"You weren't always." Hiashi sighed before continuing. "After the death of my brother, it …it opened my eyes to a lot of things. Too many things."

"Like curse seals being horrid things?"

"Necessary things, but yes. Horrible too." Hiashi poured another drink. Hanabi didn't stop him as she didn't want to stop him talking, not now. "When you were born, all I could remember was my brother's pain when I had Neji sealed. It began to haunt me actually. Then later, after naming you heir, I still couldn't bring myself to do that to Hinata."

Hanabi stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt. Who knew when she'd get another chance to hear all of this?

Hiashi shook his head sadly. "But even keeping the curse seal off of her, whomever she married would become part of our clan and her children would be branch family. And I'd be forced to curse seal them all."

It was like a switch in her head, suddenly she understood. "But Chouji is a clan heir himself. He could not possibly join our clan, he's too highly placed for that. As Hinata is NOT your heir, then she'll join HIS clan."

"Precisely." Hiashi nodded.

Hanabi almost staggered as she realized all the implications. "As the Akimichi heir, any bride of Chouji's would have to have their own bloodline limit sealed so any children will inherit _his_ family jutsu, not ours. But it would be a marriage seal, not a curse seal. It couldn't be used against her. And it would be considered an honorable thing, not a lowly one." She stared at her father in awe. "That way no child of Hinata's would ever be Hyuuga branch family member."

Hiashi toasted his youngest, his heir. "And none of her children will ever have to wear that horrendous curse seal."

"But …but …you didn't look for this match, you …she went out and asked him!" Hanabi sputtered.

Her father nodded. "Hinata is a very shy individual. To betroth her to someone when her heart wasn't involved would take a man colder than even I. Actually, I had resigned myself to having to find her a husband and having her enter the branch family. This …this match is like a heavy weight is suddenly gone. I couldn't be happier."

Hanabi suddenly frowned. "And Neji? You liked TenTen, I know you did!"

Hiashi laughed outright and Hanabi stared at him, rather shocked. "I did like TenTen, and she would have been welcome in the Hyuuga household. Still, if this date with the Inuzuka pans out, I …well, let us just say that heaven has blessed me."

The young genin just shook her head. "But it's not the same."

Hiashi nodded and poured another drink. "Yes it is, and I can't believe I hadn't thought of it before. In my defense, Neji and TenTen have been together for a long time and I never thought he'd end up with someone else."

"But …but …"

"Hanabi," Hiashi leaned forward conspiratorially. "Don't you realize? The Inuzuka family is a matriarchal one. If Neji ends up with Hana, then I won't have to curse seal any of _his _children either. He'd enter THEIR family, not she ours. She has the higher position."

"OH!" Hanabi gasped, sitting back in her chair.

Hiashi nodded and toasted the heavens with his cup. "May these matches prove to be solid and unbreakable! In fact, on the day that both Neji and Hinata are safe from the Hyuuga clan, I will give the Konoha temple a gift to match Hinata's dowry!"

Thunder split the air and Hiashi paused, eyeing the heavens warily. "Double the dowry?"

"No! Father, that's not thunder …look!"

Hiashi spun and stared as the crowd cleared, leaving the two combatants in plain view. "Damn it. I'd hoped I'd be the one to tear the Uchiha up."

Hanabi kept her mouth shut as she watched, noting the cloud of kikai bugs surrounding the area.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino trailed one hand over Gaara's chest, snuggled into his arms. "You don't have any chest hair."

"Complaints?" He teased.

"Not hardly." She snorted and grinned up at him, then nipped playfully at his collar bone. Purring she eased up to kiss his lips. "Trust me, I have no complaints. Except that …." She stopped, not wanting to bring reality crashing down around them.

"I'm leaving." He finished for her, then squeezed her tighter against him.

Ino faked a smile. "I have a meeting with Tsunade the day after tomorrow, I'll bet I can get her to let me go to Suna on some mission or another." She paused. "That is, if I'd be welcome …eep!" She squeaked as suddenly he rolled her onto her back and hovered over her.

"Welcome?" Gaara goggled down at her. "My guards are more than half in love with you! My brother likes you, or more important he likes me better with you! Everyone in Suna would bend over backwards to make you welcome. Myself included."

"Suzue and Harumi."

Gaara choked then gave a half-smile. "They're staying here, I won't have them in Suna or I might kill them. Since I like their parents alright, it would be a very awkward situation. Besides, their opinion of you doesn't count."

Ino trailed her hand down his chest and under the sheet. Gaara's jade-pale eyes nearly closed at the sensations she was causing.

"Jonquil." She whispered.

Gaara groaned helplessly. "Now I know it can't mean 'sympathy', so what the hell does it mean?"

Ino laughed and pushed him over on his back, leaning over him as she pulled the sheet away. Her breath caught as she eyed him, licking her lips as her eyes sparkled. "It does sometimes mean that, but it can also mean 'desire'."

Gaara's breath caught as she lowered herself to kiss her way down his chest. His last words were, "I like that meaning better."

o.o.o.o.o

**Well, I didn't get the the main fight in this chapter like I'd hoped. But a lot happened and I hope you've enjoyed! REVIEWS are always welcome!**


	25. Reactions

**I don't usually like author notes before a chapter, so please excuse this little interruption. Recent events in the CANON Japanese manga have …disrupted the background I put in place for this (and other) stories. I can't help that. Nor am I going to go back and change things at this late date. I apologize and hope you understand.**

**Certain things in this chapter might be considered spoilers as to how Shino fights post-Shippuden. Keep that in mind and read at your own risk. LOL!**

o.o.o.o.o

Nara Shikamaru was not having a good time. Only, he couldn't figure out why. Life was just about perfect right now. No troublesome women he had to juggle to keep them from finding out about each other. His best friend was head over heels in love, and the girl was perfect for him. Even his mother had stopped nagging him and now only shot him dirty looks about three times a day. And yesterday, he'd come soooo close to beating his father at Shogi.

Perfect.

So why did he feel so damned restless? Shikamaru sighed and looked around at the people around him. The Winter Festival was in full swing. The food was good, his wallet was fat, and no one was bugging him.

Lazily he walked toward a sweets vendor. He didn't care much for sweets, but maybe he could cut his mother's dirty looks down to twice a day with a thoughtful gift. As long as it wasn't too troublesome, he eyed the crowd and decided that he could live with his mother's disdain. The line was too long and he didn't want to bother.

Slowly, he stopped, and looked back at the vendor. Why? Why not bother? It wasn't like he had anything else to do, was it?

A certain well-known shape became visible as a group of kids left the sweet vendor's place, moving out of the way of the engrossed couple. Shikamaru caught his breath as he saw Hinata wrapped up in Chouji's arms, the two senseless to everything else except each other.

Damn. Chouji wasn't interested in hanging with him right now. And he'd be damned if he became the third wheel on their date. Shikamaru sighed, rubbing absently at his chest.

He turned, stopped, and looked back at the young couple. His analytical mind arrived at the inevitable conclusion, though he shook his head in denial.

Women were troublesome. They weren't worth the effort, he concluded even knowing he was lying to himself. Hell, he might as well face the truth.

"I'm bored." He muttered under his breath, deliberately walking away from Chouji and Hinata. Shikamaru frowned deeply, he finally had the perfect life and he was completely and utterly bored with it. "Shit."

He stopped and eyed the dancers in the street, wondering if he'd be able to cross without getting trampled. That's when he became aware of the harsh buzzing sound. Alarmed, he looked around, scanning the area. Nothi …no, not nothing …kikai beetles. The place was swarming with the kikai beetles. They were difficult to see in the darkness, but there they were in the light of the festive lanterns that decorated the street.

Shikamaru looked around and sure enough, where there were kikai there was also an Aburame. The shadow-nin widened his eyes as he saw in which direction Shino was staring so intently.

Temari? Kissing Sasuke? Shikamaru felt a pang of regret, then nearly laughed out loud as he saw the blonde open her eyes and stare out at the dancers. Apparently Sasuke wasn't a good kisser. He peeked over at Shino, but the bug-nin was frowning harder than ever.

"What's going on?"

Shikamaru turned and found Naruto and his date beside him, also watching the scene unfolding before them. The shadow-nin looked at the girl and recognized her from her father's ramen shop. He frowned, how pathetic was he that Naruto had a date and he didn't? Weren't they _both_ on that stupid 'undateable' list?

"Hey watch out!" Naruto yelled as someone bumped into Ayame suddenly. "Oh! Kakashi-sensei! Something's going on!"

Kakashi stopped as he caught sight of Sasuke, who was now staring across the suddenly bare street at Aburame Shino. He felt like turning away, but couldn't.

"This is stupid! I've got to stop this!" Naruto yelled as he saw Sasuke push Temari away and sneer at Shino. The kikai bugs around them rattled their wings angrily, the noise growing as people scattered away from the area.

Kakashi and Shikamaru both put one hand on Naruto's shoulders. The copy-nin was the first to speak. "Shino's about to attack, you don't want to interfere."

"But …but …" Naruto sputtered, then glared at Kakashi. "Don't you care about what happens to Sasuke?"

The copy-nin shrugged. "Not really." He lied coolly.

Naruto went red in the face. "But Kakashi-sensei! If Shino attacks Sasuke, Sasuke will KILL him and then he'll be thrown out of Konoha for good!"

Kakashi shook his head. "You could be placing your wager on the wrong horse, Naruto. But don't worry, Sasuke's too smart to do anything lethal within Konoha while he's trying to make a good impression. And Shino's too in control …." He sucked in a harsh breath as he heard Shino speak.

"Spread." The voice was low, dark, and determined. And it scared everyone who heard it.

Kakashi looked around wildly for back-up. "Strike that, we've got a serious issue right now!"

Naruto shook his head as he relaxed slightly. "Why? Shino just dismissed his bugs."

Shikamaru's hand tightened painfully on the blond's shoulder. "No, no he didn't. He covered the area. Now if Sasuke tries to move out of the vicinity, he can't. He's trapped."

o.o.o.o.o

Temari looked on as the kikai bugs spread out over the entire area. Her stomach churned as she looked over at Shino. "What are you doing?" She whispered. Then louder, "Shino! What the hell are you doing?"

Sasuke shook his head. "Get out of the way. Can't you see that you've taken this whole 'make Shino jealous' thing too far?"

The Sand kunoichi gasped and stared at him stonily. "That wasn't the plan! He dumped ME! I just wanted him to know it didn't hurt!"

"Whatever lie makes you feel better." Snarled Sasuke. "But still, you'd better go."

Temari shook her head and looked over at Shino. "No! I'm going to put an end to this nonsense!" She avowed and took three steps across the road. A buzzing sound was her only warning as the kikai refused to part for her.

Suddenly she was airborne, shrieking until she landed next to her brother. Kankuro wrapped her in his chakra strings and held her as she struggled and cursed. TenTen just watched with wide eyes, fingering the ribbons in her long hair, hoping not to have to activate the weapons against one of her own.

"Kankuro! You jerk! Let me go!" Temari struggled, but just as soon as she'd severed the first chakra strings holding her, more formed to hold her captive.

"Shhhh ….Temari, shut up!" Kankuro grabbed her chin and turned her head so she was facing the fight. She watched in horror as she realized that Shino hadn't even noticed she'd left, so focused was he on Sasuke.

"He wouldn't hurt me." She whispered.

Kankuro shook his head. "I've fought him, you haven't. This is a thousand times worse than what I faced all those years ago. I'm not having you in the middle of it."

"Sasuke." Shino's voice didn't rise, and there was no inflection. Still, the deadness of his tone had her nearly gagging. Then she swayed as she watched the last of the Uchiha teleport away.

Only …only she knew that teleportation ninjutsu only meant the person was moving at incredible speeds. That's all, it just looked like real teleportation to civilians. But what had her worried was that the kikai bugs were remaining honed in on Sasuke.

Wherever Sasuke appeared, the bugs were there almost as soon as he was. There was no getting away from them.

"They're locked onto his chakra." Kankuro said grimly. "No matter where Sasuke goes, they'll follow. And the bugs are spread out everywhere. He can't get away."

o.o.o.o.o

Uchiha Sasuke was fast coming to the same conclusion. He'd wanted to avoid a fight, not that he didn't know he would win, for he would of course. No, he didn't want to jinx his new petition to the council for a full return to Konoha by killing a Leaf citizen.

"Shino. It was only a pretend date. She was trying to make you jealous." Sasuke didn't bother trying to keep Temari's confidences. He simply was looking after his own best interest. And he couldn't afford to kill the heir to one of the oldest families in the village. "Don't make me have to hurt you."

o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi winced, shaking his head.

Shikamaru whispered over to him. "Doesn't Sasuke realize that we've all grown stronger over the years?"

"Apparently not." Kakashi said.

o.o.o.o.o

"You leave me no choice." Sasuke intoned and then sped over to just in front of Shino, his Sharingan activated.

Shino smiled.

Sasuke didn't like the look of the Aburame's smile. He began a genjutsu that would end this whole farce of a fight.

Shino laughed. This made everyone in the immediate vicinity cringe and step back. Aburame's didn't laugh, it was just a given. Besides, this laughter sounded sinister and dark, menacing even.

Sasuke frowned sharply. The genjutsu wasn't connecting, it wasn't working at all.

"My eyes are closed." Shino said plainly. "You can't use your Sharingan on my jutsu as it is unique to my clan and you have no kikai that you are in tune with. Even if you perfectly mimic my ability, you have no hive to command. Secondly, you can't use your genjutsu as my eyes are closed. Did you forget my sensei is also a genjutsu specialist?"

Sasuke shifted slightly, refusing to admit he had not recalled that about Shino. But the bug user was right, Kurenai would have taught her students not only how to break genjutsu, but also how to avoid it completely.

Kakashi moved forward then. "This is over now. Shino, let him go."

"Let HIM go?" Sasuke sneered. "He never had me. Sure he can avoid my bloodline limit by keeping his eyes shut, but that doesn't mean he's won."

"You don't get it, do you?" Kakashi hissed. "He doesn't need to see you to fight you. Not with the kikai. THEY see you, and are immune to genjutsu. The kikai are not intelligent as we know it, they don't think like we do. Genjutsu is useless against them."

Sasuke frowned as he realized he'd underestimated this particular Leaf shinobi. He reached behind him and loosened his sword.

"He threatens me." Shino said, hearing the rustle of clothing and reading the escalating buzzing of his beloved kikai.

"No Sasuke, don't!" Many voices shouted a warning, but he ignored them all as he pulled his sword.

Then one word stopped him in his tracks.

"Swarm."

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai and Kiba arrived with Tsunade and several ANBU members in tow.

"Shit!" Kurenai yelled as she heard Shino's one word attack.

The command from the Aburame had every kikai in the area suddenly envelop Sasuke in a cocoon of darkness. The bugs moved as swift as lightening as they covered the former missing-nin completely, no part of him was left bared, no part of him showed, and no sound was heard over the angry sound of hungry kikai destruction beetles.

Kiba looked back and forth between the wildly flailing Uchiha who was covered in a black swarm of kikai, and his friend, Shino. Clearly, he was torn as to what to do.

The ANBU laughed and pointed at Sasuke's bug-covered body as he screamed and ran around the area. Not being able to see, he ran right into a wall. Shino winced as several of his kikai were squished in the process.

Kakashi sighed and Tsunade walked up to Shino, clucking her tongue. "Let him go, you've proved your point."

Naruto looked heavily upset as he fought loose of Shikamaru's grip. Ayame was watching with awe as her boyfriend started _yelling_ at their Hokage. He was so brave!

"Stop him! Sasuke's chakra will be eaten by the bugs and he'll DIE!" Naruto yelled, looking wild eyed.

Tsunade shrugged, then winced as she grabbed Naruto before he could attack Shino. "Calm down, calm down! It looks bad, but I don't sense Sasuke's chakra levels dropping. The kikai could kill him now, but they're not. Are they Shino?"

The Aburame finally turned from watching Sasuke floundering to shake his head at Tsunade. "I did hear right though? It wasn't a real date?"

TenTen stepped in front of a still struggling Temari. "She was hurt you dumped her. She has a right to date, or not date, anyone else!"

Tsunade nodded to the ANBU with her. "Take Shino in for me, will you? And Shino, let go of Sasuke now. Since you're not going to kill him, you might as well let him go."

Naruto looked puzzled as he looked at everyone around him. Kakashi took pity on him and pointed at Sasuke as the bugs started to leave him. "It was a killing attack, but Shino didn't allow his bugs to eat Sasuke's chakra. He beat him, but isn't going to kill him."

"But …but …" Naruto looked on in awe as wave after wave of kikai bugs started to pull away. "But Sasuke couldn't be caught like that. He's …he's too good …."

"Obviously, you're wrong." Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. "Actually, I didn't know Shino had achieved this level of mastery. I've only seen his father perform those commands before." The copy-nin shook his head in admiration. "And to command the kikai to swarm, but not to devour the target's chakra? Truly impressive. Not every Aburame has that level of control and power. Look, the most Sasuke will come away with is a few bug bites and hurt pride."

"Oh." Naruto said, subdued as Sasuke slowly came back into view.

Kakashi scratched his head as he admitted something. "You know, I'm not sure I could get away from that attack. It would take a mastery of time and space ninjutsu. I don't really have that skill level, not yet anyway."

"Time and space ninjutsu?" Shikamaru asked, joining them.

The copy-nin spread his hands in a shrug. "True teleportation, not just enhanced speed."

"Wow!" Naruto moaned, his eyes getting huge. Ayame choked and turned away in horror.

"I know, it's a heady thought. To actually be able to teleport. Still, it's beyond difficult and …" Kakashi paused as Naruto tugged on his jacket. He turned to look where his former student was pointing and his jaw dropped. "Wow." He agreed.

Shino turned as well and felt his stomach churn. He looked over at the Hokage. "I didn't plan this."

Tsunade nodded as she watched, her own eyes wide with shock. "Did you know though?"

Shino shook his head as ANBU surrounded him. "The kikai must have bit him, even though they didn't consume his chakra. Still, I had no idea anyone was _allergic_ to the kikai."

The Hokage nodded even as she winced, watching Sasuke's face puff up like a blow fish. His eyes were already swelling shut and his hands looked like over-stuffed sausages. "I'd better get him to the hospital before his breathing stops."

Sasuke choked and his gasping breath ceased, horrid gagging noises were all that could be heard.

Tsunade nodded and grabbed him, making a dash for the hospital.

o.o.o.o.o

Several hours later, the door to Shino's cell rattled. He looked up as Tsunade entered and grabbed a chair, spinning it to straddle it backwards.

"Does the Uchiha live?" He asked bluntly.

Tsunade nodded. "He's covered from head to foot in lotions and potions, but his breathing is finally stabilized."

Shino grunted.

"He's breathing through a tube, and is in a lot of pain, but he's stable.

Shino had the grace to drop his gaze and nod. Though he refused to apologize.

Luckily, Tsunade wasn't interested in apologies. "The council, or most that could be found that were still sober, have decided not to arrest you."

"Oh?" The bug-ninja looked up, though he didn't look surprised.

The Hokage's eyes narrowed. "You'd counted on that?"

Shino shrugged. "I am an Aburame. He is a traitor, the last of the Uchiha. My standing is better in council eyes than he is at the moment. He's not even currently a member of this village."

Tsunade contemplated his answer a moment, then grinned and shook her head. "I don't buy it. You want me to think you were completely in control the whole time. Just don't forget, I'm a medical specialist, I know the signs of stress and anger better than anyone here. You'd lost it. Completely lost control."

Two small spots of red colored his cheekbones as Shino looked away. He was not going to admit she was right. Up until Sasuke had told him that his date with Temari wasn't real, he'd not been in control of his actions at all. Something that he wasn't very proud of, and something he was not going to speak of aloud. "Am I free to go?" Was all he asked.

The Hokage grunted and stood. "We're more alike than I'd realized, Shino. Just remember, any more attacks and the council may not look so kindly on you."

Shino stood and picked up his jacket, shrugging into it quickly.

"And you're attack may have hurt Sasuke physically, but you helped his cause."

In mid-motion, his body froze, his jacket hanging from one shoulder. "What?"

Tsunade chuckled. "Being humiliated like that? Some of the councilors and many of the populace now feel …a bit sorry for the poor orphan. He's just gained a few more votes to stay here in Konoha on a permanent basis."

Shino growled as he exited, leaving Tsunade grinning after him as she whistled jauntily.

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi flipped through the magazine, though there was little to interest her in the fashions popular with nobility. Still twits. Who cared if pink was in or out? She wouldn't wear it either way.

A groan had her eyes cutting over to the patient on the bed. She grinned as she saw his swollen lips move.

"Shhh …." Hanabi whispered. "You're eyes are still swollen shut, though the swelling is going down. Some."

His lips moved, but no words formed.

"You can't speak because of the tube in your throat. You're going to be fine though, no lasting damage. And you've gotten a lot of sympathy from people stopping by. Some elder council members as well. Who knew? Getting totally trounced by some bugs might be the best thing that ever happened to you."

He groaned and his fingers twitched.

Hanabi laughed. "Are you trying to make a fist? You might want to wait until the swelling goes down. If you constrict your muscles you will further decrease the blood flow into your extremities. You could lose a few fingers that way." She lied.

It worked though, as he immediately stopped moving.

"Now then." Hanabi came up to his bedside, leaning down to speak directly into his ear. "The medics were concerned you'd wake up unable to see and talk and completely freak out. So they asked for volunteers to sit with you, keep you company. I took the second shift, you slept through the first."

Sasuke tried to lick his lips, but was having a hard time. Suddenly some ice chips were placed on his dry lips and he nearly wept at the cool moisture.

Hanabi grinned down at him, and if he'd been able to see her, he would have fallen into a defensive position.

"Now. You're stalking my sister, right?"

In his bed, Sasuke suddenly stiffened, wary.

Hanabi patted his shoulder. "No, don't be worried. I'm not going to attack a man who is down." He relaxed slowly. "And humiliated and defeated already." He growled, or tried to at least.

She laughed and patted his hand this time. "Never mind. I seem to be having a negative affect on you. I guess I won't talk about the humiliating fight you just lost in front of nearly every villager we have. I'll just sit here and read. Call my name if you need anything." She taunted him, knowing good and well he couldn't talk with a tube in his throat.

With that, she flipped open the magazine and began to read aloud to him. "Pink is by far the most popular color of the season. Although black is still wonderfully slimming, we here at the fashion institute feel that it conjures up images of grisly ninja rather than elegance." Hanabi frowned. "I don't feel that black is a dour color, do you Sasuke? Blood doesn't stain it half as bad as it would pink. Well, never mind, let's keep going."

Sasuke winced and moaned and wished he were still unconscious.

"How to get rid of unwanted attention." Hanabi crowed happily. "Oh Sasuke! It's the perfect article for you. Well, for Hinata actually. Anyway, here we go. 'Ladies, when the male of our species just won't take a subtle hint …."

Sasuke shuddered. Unconscious? Right now he wished Shino HAD killed him!

o.o.o.o.o

Shino let himself into the house and paused at the foot of the stairs. The light in his father's study was still on, and he knew he couldn't avoid this discussion. What had happened tonight was a disgrace. He'd lost his temper and nearly killed a man. Not that he cared particularly for the Uchiha, but he did care that he'd besmirched his clan's name by his actions.

He knocked on the study door. His father answered the summons, then stepped out of his study and gestured for Shino to enter first.

Stepping into his father's study with a heavy heart, Shino missed the chakra signature and was shocked as Temari stood up from a chair next to his father's desk. Her teal eyes watched him warily. The bug-nin turned to look at his father. Shibi nodded toward Temari and then shut the door of his study, leaving the two of them alone together.

Temari just stared at him. Shino silently wished his father had torn the flesh from his bones rather than to have left him to face her all on his own.

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi closed the magazine with a small flourish, which was wasted on Sasuke as he still couldn't see. "Well, that's the end of the magazines. I hope we all learned something new. Did you realize that silver chopsticks were now considered elitist and gauche? I certainly didn't. Though, I've never eaten with any, have you?"

Sasuke wiggled his foot. He'd been trying for a toe, but the whole foot moved as the swelling interfered with his gross and fine motor control.

"Well, I have bad news." Hanabi sighed unhappily. "My shift is over now."

He could have wept in relief.

"The good news is that I volunteered for the next shift too, though! Isn't that grand?" Hanabi's voice was full of mischievous glee.

His lips moved in a helpless curse, but the tube in his throat kept the words locked within his mind.

Hanabi clapped her hands. "Now, I don't have another magazine, so I can't read to you."

Sasuke stilled, he would have been thrilled by the lack of inane reading material if he weren't so sure she had something even nastier up her sleeve.

"So I'll sing for you instead." She smiled beatifically, though he couldn't see her. "To keep your spirits high."

The first three off-key notes had him almost ready to hold his breath until he passed out. A whole verse later, he tried it. Only, he couldn't hold his breath because of the damned tube down his damned throat! He was trapped!

Hanabi grinned and kept singing as she watched him twitch and shudder on the bed. This should help teach him not to mess around with the Hyuuga clan. She might not be able to fight him one on one, but she did know how to fight dirty.

o.o.o.o.o

**Hope you enjoyed! REVIEWS are always welcome. And no, Shino's fight wasn't EXACTLY like in the canon manga, I'm well aware that my story pales in comparison to the canon. But then, I don't own Naruto ... LOL!**


	26. Talk to Me

Tsunade bustled into the hospital room, gave Hanabi a short stare, then ignored the genin who was currently braiding Sasuke's hair into tiny plaits. With little bows on the ends.

The Hokage pulled up a chair next to Sasuke's bed and stared at him a moment. "The swelling is going down some. We should be able to remove the breathing tube in a day or two. You're out of danger. Right now we're just making sure that your veins don't become compromised by the swelling."

Sasuke flicked his head upward, toward Hanabi.

Tsunade chuckled. "Okay, you're mostly out of danger. Do you want me to place an ANBU guard in here to protect you from the genin?"

He groaned and turned his head away, wincing as this pulled on the hair Hanabi still had hold of and wasn't letting go.

The blonde sighed and crossed her arms. "Okay, what gives? You see, I don't buy your act."

Hanabi sat still and let go of Sasuke's hair, hoping that she wasn't about to get thrown out of the room. This conversation was far too interesting to be kept out of it now.

Sasuke nodded toward her again, but the Hokage wasn't biting. "So I send her out of the room, she's a Hyuuga and a ninja. You don't think she won't find out what we're discussing? In fact, let me call in Sakura and a few others just so we have plenty of witnesses and we're clear on everything." Tsunade sighed and settled down. "Just tell me why you did it?"

"Uhm, Hokage?" Hanabi asked in a whisper. "He has a tube in his throat. Can't talk."

Tsunade reached into her pocket, pulled out a cloth and unwrapped it. There in her palm was a valve of some kind. She reached toward Sasuke and popped it over the tube. "There, now he can talk. I don't want to leave it on too long though, as it makes breathing more difficult."

"Son of a ….."

Tsunade reached over and grabbed the valve back off his tube. "Uh, no language of that nature little genin. Much too coarse for you." She then replaced the valve.

Sasuke growled as Hanabi looked puzzled for a moment then her face cleared. "He never took the chuunin exams over again! He's still a genin!"

"You…." He coughed to clear his throat. It was hard talking through a tube and a valve, and she wasn't kidding about it making it harder to breathe either. "I made it back?"

Tsunade grimaced. "Tentatively. You're on serious probation. The council has found it in their sympathetic little hearts to take you back. Though, you pick up where you left off. Genin."

"Then it was worth it." Sasuke sighed happily despite the horrid way he felt.

Hanabi pointed at him accusingly. "You …He …NO!"

"Lost on purpose just to make nice with the council? Look all humiliated in order to get some sympathy?" Tsunade clucked her tongue. "Yes and no. It was more that he held his cool and didn't turn it into an all out battle. He didn't fight back, that much is clear. He rattled Shino's chains, he taunted, he acted the jerk and he made a move for his sword. He tried a simple eye-contact genjutsu that didn't work. But why didn't he use any of his more lethal abilities? He wasn't trying."

Hanabi pouted as she crossed her arms, then grinned. "But he didn't reckon on being allergic to the kikai bites, did he?"

"No." Laughed Tsunade, completely amused. "No, I don't think he counted on that. He probably got more than he was counting on."

Sasuke pulled a frown, and it hurt. He groaned.

Tsunade shook her head. "No, don't try to hide it. Sure, you bounced into a wall to look more pathetic, especially once you realized the kikai weren't eating your chakra. But you realized something else too, didn't you?"

The Uchiha forced a shrug. "Not to piss off Shino more than I have to. He ...he wasn't showing all his fighting moves either." Sasuke admitted reluctantly. He'd been caught in a trap that he hadn't wanted to avoid. But looking back on it, he wasn't quite sure how he could have avoided getting caught like that. He'd be thinking about it though, that's for damned sure. No way would that same move catch him twice.

"You underestimated him."

Sasuke nodded sharply, though with great reluctance.

"And you're back in Konoha, little genin. You achieved your goal." Tsunade flicked one of his hives rather roughly and he squirmed. "Was it worth it?"

"I hope so." He managed to get out before coughing again.

"Oh, and thank you." Tsunade stood, stretching as she yawned. "I appreciate you not summoning Manda in the middle of my village."

He debated not telling her, but in the end he couldn't let the comment pass. "Manda's dead." Sasuke told her, still not sure how he felt about that. The giant snake had been evil, sure, but part of him missed that crafty old serpent.

Tsunade nodded. "I knew that, actually. I just wanted to see if you'd tell me, or let me go on thinking you had access to that murderous giant snake. Still, I'm sure he wasn't the only summons left to you by Orochimaru. Though the others might not be quite as impressive."

Sasuke didn't answer as she'd hit far closer to the truth than he cared to admit.

"By the way. When you get better, you'll need to meet up with your new teammates." Tsunade smiled evilly, even though he couldn't see her.

"New team?" Sasuke frowned. He hadn't gotten that far in his planning.

The blonde whistled innocently as she opened the door to the hallway. "Hanabi's team as a matter of fact, she's down a member right now."

Sasuke and Hanabi both stiffened at those words. "Tashiro really decided to quit, did he?" The Hyuuga heiress asked, resigned.

Tsunade nodded. "How perfect is it that we have one extra genin right when we have one opening for a genin?" She paused and stared at Sasuke a moment before continuing, ignoring the fact that he couldn't actually see her right now. "Hanabi is your team captain by the way, so play nice Uchiha."

He groaned and said a few bad words. Hanabi reached over and grabbed his valve, pulling it off as he started coughing again, this time sounding worse than before.

"You might not want to put that back on, Hanabi." Tsunade said as she stepped out into the hallway. "That way no one can hear him scream."

Hanabi paused and sent Tsunade a long measuring look. Sasuke stilled, waiting for whatever awful thing these two had in store for him.

Tsunade grinned at Hanabi. "Team Leader? I think the nurse might have some nail polish to match those ribbons you've put in his hair. They say that a manicure and a pedicure always make a patient feel so much better."

Hanabi grinned as strangling noises came from her newest team member. The door shut behind Tsunade as Hanabi stared gleefully and maliciously down at Sasuke.

o.o.o.o.o

"Do you want any tea?"

"Fuck you." She said, though without much heat.

Shino paused while reaching for the tea service already sitting on the low table. Temari hadn't raised her voice, but then she didn't need to in order to make her feelings known. Her voice had been as sharp as razor wire. He let his hand fall back to his side.

"Why?"

Shino looked away, out the large window. The same window they'd been sitting in front of when she'd fallen asleep in his arms. How could it have been only a month ago that she'd first spoken to him, asked him to escort her to the Winter Festival? The same festival he'd just ruined for her. He winced slightly.

Temari crossed her arms and stared a hole through him until he turned back to look at her. "I'm not going away. I promised your father that I wouldn't attack you with my fan, but that's all I promised."

The Aburame heir nodded. "Nice to know he cares."

"No, he's on my side." Temari smirked. "He just asked that I leave his study intact. There are quite a few valuable and breakable antiques in here."

Shino looked around carefully, noting a few things. "He doesn't trust us much. He moved grandmother's vase and the more delicate ceramics out of the room. My mother's loom is gone too."

Temari chose a seat and sat down, crossing her legs as she did so. She'd changed out of her fancy kimono for the festival and now wore a sturdier dress, one that offered more warmth. Still, there was a fold in the skirt and it fell open as she sat there staring at him. That one sight of her leg, a long line of flesh in mesh stockings had him swallowing hard.

She sneered at him and flicked the slit in her dress closed.

Shino managed to uncross his eyes, grateful for the dark glasses that kept her from knowing where he was looking. Oh sure, she'd probably guessed, had maybe even done it on purpose …but she didn't _know_ it'd worked.

Temari sighed and sat forward in her seat. "What did I do wrong?"

"Nothing." He answered truthfully. "Nothing."

"Alright, what did you do wrong? Cheat on me?" She asked sharply. Actually she didn't believe that this was the case. Not with Shino. But after the debacle with Shikamaru she just had to know if there was another girl in the picture.

Shino grunted in derision and shook his head.

"Good." Temari sighed, something deep within her loosening up a bit as that particular worry was laid to rest. "For the record, your father didn't think that was it either."

Shocked to the core, Shino just gaped as he shook his head at her. "My father?"

"I like your father." She told him simply. "He's a good man."

_So am I_, he responded, if only in his head. "No. My father is a very private man. The whole clan is as a matter of fact. He would never discuss personal issues with …"

"An outsider?" She guessed, her temper starting to flare again.

Shino nodded in spite of himself. "He would see you as such. You're not an Aburame."

Temari leaned back in her chair, putting her hands behind her head and smiling up at him. The move tightened her dress across her chest and revealed a bit more of her rather nice curves. Her figure was spectacular in his opinion, neither small nor overblown. Perfect. Like she was in his eyes. He turned away, cursing his fate. Why had she been put before him? Taunting him with what he wanted, and could not have?

"Kawazu."

Shino spun around looking like someone had just run him through with a spike. He sputtered as he looked first toward the closed door where his father had left the room, then pointed a finger at Temari, though he couldn't seem to formulate a solid thought, much less words.

"Kawazu." Temari rolled the nickname around on her tongue, as if savoring the sound. "Your mother called you that as a baby, against your father's objections."

The bug-nin sank absently into a near by chair, his mind reeling.

"Frog. You're mother called you a frog." She grinned over at him. "I hear that you kicked your legs just like a little frog and your eyes followed your father's kikai all around the room. Just like a little frog intent on his first meal."

"Frogs eat bugs." He said, totally inanely. Then he stiffened and stared at her. "There's no way my father told you that, you must have found out from someone else!"

Temari pursed her lips, as if lost in thought. "Well, that could have been a story your mother told me. I get them all confused. Was it she or your father that told me about the time you set a trap for the kikai? You wanted a hive just like your dad's and wouldn't accept his word that you weren't old enough yet."

Shino's hand shook and he clenched the chair rail to keep from letting her see how her words were affecting him. His parents had opened up to her? Shared stories of his past? It could only mean they approved her, as a long-term prospect ….as a prospective bride. Suddenly he felt like throwing up. How was he going to let her go again?

Temari suddenly stood and stalked over to him, leaning over him as he sat in his chair. She stared into the blankness of his sunglasses and growled. "You pulled away from me. You let me go, let me walk away. You ended things. So why in the hell did you attack Sasuke?"

Suddenly the air around her crackled with the buzzing energy of Shino's temper as the kikai reacted to his own reaction to that particular name.

o.o.o.o.o

Hana missed the step on purpose, falling 'accidentally' into Neji as he escorted her back home.

He grinned, not believing her supposed clumsiness even for a second. The Hyuuga wasn't a prodigy for nothing, he took her cue and ran with it as he slipped an arm around her shoulders. "Careful there."

"Careful where?" She grinned into his face and stole a quick kiss. "There? Why, do you bite? A lot of my patients bite, I'm used to it." She said, referring to her veterinarian practice.

"Oh?" He teased and snapped at her nose, giving her a smile as she laughed and jerked her head back at his sudden movement. "Do they lick too?"

Hana caught her breath as she stared at him, almost daring him to back that last question up. He leaned forward and slowly drew his tongue across the seam of her lips. She shivered, though not from the cold weather.

Neji drew back slightly, leaning his forehead against hers. "What else do they do?" He asked naughtily.

The dark-haired kunoichi thought it over a moment, then whispered in his ear. "They whimper a lot after I neuter them."

Neji's pale eyes went wide as he jerked back, staring at her. She nearly fell down laughing at his expression. The Hyuuga groaned and shook her gently. "That's not even remotely funny!" He said sternly, which only set her pealing with laughter all over again. "Really, not funny." He muttered.

Hana grabbed a lock of his hair, pulling on it to bring his ear closer to her mouth. "Yes it is." She whispered and lightly bit his ear lobe.

Neji shivered this time, his knees weakening. So, _this_ is what TenTen had meant. The sheer volume of heat and desire that flooded his system as Hana purred and continued nibbling on his ear. It was different. What he and TenTen had had together had been special, and it still was. But when they'd kissed there'd not been this explosion of utter need between them. Not like it was with Hana.

"I want a real one." Neji asked, suddenly serious, the words out of his mouth before he could talk himself out of it.

Hana pulled back at his tone and gave him a puzzled look. "A real one?"

"A real date. No pretending, no nothing except you and me on a date. Not as a favor, not as a bribe, just us." Neji felt the moment slow down as she contemplated his words. What would she say? He was younger than she, but not by that much. Would it matter?

"I …I don't know." She said, shaking her head negatively. Neji felt his stomach clench, then she continued. "You **_are_** on the 'undateable' list after all." Hana kept her face deadpan for a few seconds until his expression caused her to lose it completely.

Neji groaned as he watched her almost collapse as she laughed so hard she seemed to be having trouble catching her breath. "I thought this date tonight was to get me off that list?"

Hana waved one hand at him and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her into his arms. He nestled his face into the crook of her shoulder. She was taller than TenTen, though he still had the height advantage. She snuggled closer to him. "You know, I might keep you on that list." He grinned, not falling for it this time. "Except for me of course. You still need more lessons in kissing."

Neji grinned and ran his thumb down her ribs, making her shriek and jump away from him, swatting at his hands. He watched her, delighting in her presence.

The light flickered on and they both stilled, stifling their laughter. Tsume opened the door, staring out after them, her nin-dog at her side. Kuromaru looked out at them and shook his doggy head, then headed back to bed. Tsume sighed and did the same.

Neji and Hana looked at each other and grinned. "Tomorrow? Dinner?" He asked.

Hana nodded and that simple gesture made him grin the whole rest of the night.

o.o.o.o.o

Hanabi frowned at the stained sheet as she heard the door behind her open again. She wasn't surprised, the nurses had been checking on Sasuke pretty regularly. She moved in front of the bed to hide the evidence. The bright pink evidence.

"Hinata?"

The genin spun around, startled.

"No, my mistake. Sorry. You resemble her from the back, sorry about that."

Hanabi nodded, slightly in awe. This man was the infamous copy-ninja after all.

Kakashi gave her a smile through his mask. "Do you think you can leave us alone a moment?"

Hanabi nodded mutely and handed him the speaking valve.

Kakashi looked down at the small item in his hand, then up at her, his one visible eye clearly puzzled.

"Oh!" Hanabi jerked slightly. "That goes on the tube so that he can speak. That is, if you want to speak to him. Oh, but of course you do! How stupid of me, why else would you be here? Unless it was to fight, but that …I don't mean that you would attack anyone who was hurt and injured. I don't mean that! I just mean that …. Oh crap!" She turned red and ran from the room.

The copy-nin watched her go with a small smile. "See? Now that's the proper way for a genin to greet me. All nervous and so eager to please that they fall all over themselves. Not like other genin I once knew, setting up a chalkboard eraser so that it fell on my head."

Sasuke gestured toward his throat.

"Oh right." It took a moment, but the copy-nin got the speaking valve in place. "There."

"That was Naruto who did that." The croaking sound of the voice sounded strange, as if it weren't really Sasuke in the hospital bed.

"I wouldn't be able to recognize you, what with the hives and heavy lotions if it weren't for your need to place blame anywhere but at your own feet. Though I find you're quick enough to take credit when it's due." Kakashi paused. "Nice hair bows."

Sasuke growled, then coughed and choked. Kakashi waited for him to finish before speaking again. "I hear you're back in the village."

"I hear you didn't want me back." The Uchiha croaked, his voice very rough sounding.

The white-haired shinobi nodded and took a seat. "No. I didn't vote in your favor when the council asked me."

"I don't blame you." Sasuke said, hiding his hurt at those matter-of-fact words.

Kakashi sighed. "You think it will be that easy? You betray the village, no strike that, you betrayed me. Sasuke, you betrayed me and took everything I taught you, including my own personal jutsu and joined our sworn enemy. A man who murdered our Third Hokage. Now you waltz back after Itachi's death and expect everyone to forgive and forget?"

Sasuke groaned. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not, and that's the problem." Kakashi sighed and rolled his neck, trying to ease some of the stiffness. "You wanted power, you got power. You wanted revenge, you got revenge. You wanted back in Konoha, and now you're back. Tell me, what could you possibly be sorry for?"

"You. Naruto. Sakura. Everything."

Kakashi stood and looked dispassionately down at his former student. "You may have wormed your back into the village. But you will have to try a lot harder than that to gain my trust, much less my respect."

"Harder than this?" Moaned Sasuke, trying vainly to open his swollen eyes.

The copy-nin laughed. "You may have fooled the council members into thinking that was a real fight. And you may have fooled the Hokage into thinking you didn't fight at all. But I know you, Sasuke. You weren't fighting back, not at first. But when the kikai swarmed I recognized those hand seals you were trying to form. Fire jutsu. It would have been a good move, if you'd managed to form any of those seals."

Sasuke groaned.

"Still, the kikai were interfering, I understand. But what about some of your other jutsu? Those gleaned from Orochimaru? Some of those don't require seals. What happened?"

Reluctantly, Sasuke answered, more from habit of honoring his sensei than for any other reason. "I don't know. I could tell the kikai weren't eating my chakra, but ….but the bites were burning and I could tell something was wrong. But when I tried to activate some of my moves, nothing worked right."

Kakashi nodded. "You just earned one honor point with me for telling the truth. For that I'll let you in on what must have gone wrong. You're one in a million Sasuke, allergic to the kikai destruction beetle bites. Their venom is usually inert, but with you it caused a reaction. That reaction interfered with your chakra flow and your ability to manipulate it. Almost like a poison. And the number of beetles made the poison in your system nearly overflow your veins. I think, if the fight had continued, you might have found a way around it. Still, we may never know."

"I'll find a way around it." Sasuke vowed harshly.

The copy-nin chuckled without humor. "Planning on fighting Shino again? I thought you were one of us once more."

Sasuke shrugged. "I am, and I'll keep to that, I swear."

"Sure, now that Itachi is gone and there's no more pressing need to betray us. But …what if that should change? How do we trust you again?" Kakashi stopped, turning away to look out the window. He really, really wanted to welcome his former student back. But he fought that feeling. Sasuke hadn't earned that yet, not from him.

"One honor point, huh?" Sasuke took a deep breath, the valve on the tube in his throat rattling a bit. "How many do I have to earn?"

"One million." Kakashi answered without thought. "You're on your way with that one point. Don't louse it up."

"I've been placed on a genin team." Sasuke said, trying to draw Kakashi into a conversation about something other than his betrayal of the village. "Hyuuga Hanabi's actually."

"I want you to stay away from Hinata." Kakashi said quietly. "Don't think I haven't heard what you're up to these days. She's made it clear she has no interest in you."

Sasuke frowned, turning his head slightly. "I have just as much right to court whomever I please as anyone else."

"Wrong." Kakashi sighed. "You gave up that right when you left. If the girl returned your favor, that would be different. But I hear from Kurenai that the girl has never been happier than with the beau she already has. So leave her be."

"I saw her 'message', the colors she was wearing with her kimono." Sasuke grimaced. "But I want honor points for letting go of her. Ten points."

"You never had her, so letting her go is no hardship."

"I needed her. Eight points?"

"Four." Kakashi sighed and stood up. "You can have four if you leave Hinata alone."

"I was going to anyhow." Sasuke taunted lightly. "After I saw how close she was snuggled up to the Akimichi."

"Minus two points for trying to play me." Kakashi grinned as he stood. "Before you protest, it's my point system and I have final say."

"So, with my original point plus four and minus two, that gives me a grand total of 3 points." Sasuke laughed. "Only 999,997 left to go."

Kakashi paused at the door. "Why is the sheet over your knees stained pink?"

"Nail polish. I may be down and unable to see, but I can still break a bottle of nail polish before some genin punk paints my toes with it."

o.o.o.o.o

"Shino? Just tell me. I can handle it, whatever it is. But if you don't tell me your parents will hate me forever, for I will gut you. Froggie."

The Aburame heir winced at the nickname as it fell from her lips. Lips he wanted to kiss, but couldn't. Finally he cleared his throat. "I can't date you anymore."

Temari frowned sharply, pulling away so he wouldn't see the hurt in her eyes. She'd been prepared for this, but the reality of hearing it from his lips hurt far more than she'd anticipated. "Just tell me why. Is it my Suna accent? My looks? My attitude? What? Just tell me!"

"I can't date you anymore because ….because …I can't let you go."

The blonde turned around, furious beyond belief. "Shino, that makes no fucking sense! You let me go BECAUSE you _can't _let me go?"

"I love you."

Temari tripped and nearly fell into the tea service. Shino jumped up, but she'd caught herself before actually falling and held up one hand to keep him from touching her. She banged her ears a moment, then poked a finger into each one. "Say that again, because it didn't sound right."

"You heard me."

"SAY IT ANYWAY!" She screamed, uncaring of anyone upstairs who might actually be sleeping at this late hour.

Shino walked up to her and took off his concealing glasses. Dark chocolate eyes appeared to be melting as they stared into her confused teal-colored orbs. "I love you."

Temari's eyes misted, though no tears fell. Blinking hard, she turned her back on him to stare out the window. "You have a rotten way of showing it."

Shino ran his hand through his hair and sighed, his mouth opening and words spilling out that he'd never wanted to utter. "I can't move to Suna."

"Who asked you to, Toad!"

"Frog."

"Toad." She insisted with a sneer.

Shino sighed and gave up. "Fine, Toad it is." He walked around her, putting his back to the window so he could look her in the face. Her eyes refused to meet his. "When I heard the council elder tell Ino that her request to be sent to Suna was denied, I had to face the truth. I have to let you go."

Temari sighed and shook her head. "Why though?"

"I can't go to Suna. I can't make the same kind of request that Ino did." Shino caught her shoulders, turning her so she had no choice but to face him. "I am the Aburame heir. Unlike other clans, our ninja can not be marriage sealed. The kikai are a totally different form of ninja art. It's not true ninjutsu at all. It's unique to us and …and there are no Aburame outside of Konoha."

Temari shrugged, not seeing the problem yet.

He shook her shoulders a bit. "Temari. If I went to Suna I would be facing a death sentence. I can go on missions, of course, but not for long extended times. The heart of the kikai hives is here in Konoha. Bugs don't live life spans as we do, the hives have to be tended and replenished. Even if I ran, I …I couldn't, without the bugs my system would shut down, I'd die."

The blonde kunoichi sniffed and shook her head.

"I know you can't come here, not with being the Kazekage's sister and all. Politics! I hate politics!" Shino shook his head. "We have to let go. I …I was so happy when you asked me to the Winter Festival. Date _you_ for three months? When you chose me I thought I was the luckiest guy around. But then I went and fell in love with you and it all changed.

Temari sighed and jerked her shoulders away, forcing him to let go. "You're so smart, for a stupid jerk. You didn't even bother to ask if I wanted to move here."

"You can't." He told her.

"Idiot. You might not be able to move, but my wind jutsu doesn't need a home hive or anything of the sort. Besides, I'd already gotten permission to teach here at the Konoha Academy next year."

Shino's hands shook as he watched her walk toward the study door. "What?"

"I wanted to wait to tell you, I thought it was too soon after only dating you for a month. So I was going to wait and surprise you. Well, you surprised me first." She said bitterly.

"You're staying? Here?"

"Funny, you're usually quicker than this, Shino." Temari opened the study door.

Shino took three steps forward, a smile beginning on his lips. "We don't have to break up!"

"We already did. Scratch that, _**you** broke us up_." Temari reminded him coolly.

Shino stopped, staring at her. "But you're staying here in Konoha."

Temari nodded wearily. "I'm staying, but that doesn't mean I'll take you back automatically. You hurt me, Shino."

The bug-nin nodded, resigned. "Are you going to keep seeing Sasuke? No. You promised the other girls you would date me for three months. I want my remaining two months to win you back. You can't date anyone else until then."

The Sand kunoichi stared at him a moment, then laughed harshly. "You have some nerve, Frog-boy."

"I want those two months."

"Fine." She snapped at him. "But don't think it'll be easy to win me back!" She stalked from the room and slammed the door shut.

Shibi and his wife poked their heads around the corner from the dining room. Temari waved at them a bit blearily, wiping an errant tear. "It went well." She told them and then walked out the front door.

Shino's mother smiled. "You'd better start drafting the betrothal proposition for the Kazekage. I need to make some lists for the engagement party. Oh, and invitations! No, that should wait until I have a specific date."

Shibi shook his head at her. "It may not work out. Don't get your hopes up."

Aburame Hatsue shrugged prettily. "You heard her, Shino has two months to win her back. Have a little faith in your son."

o.o.o.o.o

**For everyone who questioned the last chapter's fight scene, I've answered them through the review reply system instead of within an A/N. I won't address it here, it would take too long. I do hope though, that this new chapter cleared some of the lingering questions up. **

**However, any and all comments are welcome and I have to say I'm so happy that even those that disagreed with my view on the fight were all constructive, logical, and well thought out. THANK you to all who reviewed.**

**And as always REVIEWS are most welcome, I don't mind at all discussing aspects of my stories.**

**P.S. The speaking valve is based on an actual item, a passy muir valve - though I changed some things to make it easier for my story.**


	27. Froggy Went a Courting

The morning after the Winter Festival, Ino woke early. Rolling over in her bed, she stretched lazily, frowning at the unexpected soreness. A second later, the fog lifted and she grinned madly remembering just what she'd been doing to cause that soreness! She sighed as she mentally replayed every naughty moment in her mind.

Moments later, that pleasure fizzled as she remembered that the source of her soreness would be leaving today for Suna, without her. Ino threw back her covers and scrambled from her bed in a rush to get ready. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, but she had people to see and things to do!

o.o.o.o.o

As day broke over Konoha, one man peered outside the window while blearily drinking his tea. Gaara paused, his cup at his lips, but he didn't drink. Instead he scowled.

"Temari?" The red-head asked, his voice morning-rough. "Why is Shino down on the street across from our apartment staring up here?"

The blond kunoichi pulled her head out of the refrigerator and snarled at him. Gaara blinked, his eyes widening. He was used to his siblings in the morning, he was used to seeing them under stress, hell, he even knew what they looked like facing imminent death. "You don't look good." He stated with blunt truthfulness.

"Who doesn't look good?" Kankuro yawned, padding into the kitchen following the smell of freshly brewed tea. He poured a cup and turned to face his sister, yelped, and spilled the hot tea down his bare chest. "OUCH! Damn it!"

Gaara tossed the puppet ninja a towel, though his eyes never left Temari.

Kankuro sighed, and fully awake now, blotted off the hot tea. "Damn it! That burns." He shook his head and grimaced over at his sister. "Didn't sleep well?" He asked as casually as he could manage.

Temari blinked her red eyes and refused to think of what a rat's nest her hair must look like. "You think?" She muttered snidely.

"Shino's outside staring up here." Gaara told his brother, still puzzled.

"Of course he is." Kankuro sneered and poured a new cup of tea, handling it more carefully this time. He walked over toward the table, but half-way there, Temari snatched the tea cup from him for herself. The puppeteer contemplated the wisdom of fighting her for the tea, but decided to retreat as she looked particularly mean this morning. "He's wanting to get back in her good graces. He has two more months to do it too."

Gaara nodded and looked back out the window at the Aburame. "What happened?"

Kankuro paused as he picked up the teapot to pour yet another cup of tea. He goggled at his younger brother a moment. "You don't know? Where were you last night?"

Gaara slid his eyes away from his brother, not wanting to share with him _exactly _how he'd spent his evening. That was personal, private, and one of the best memories of his entire life. "At the Winter Festival." Gaara outright lied.

"No you weren't, or you would have heard ….oh shit." The puppet shinobi cursed and forgot what he'd been talking about as he realized that the tea pot was now empty. Grumbling and muttering darkly he shot evil glances at an uncaring Temari as he bustled around to fix a new pot.

Temari blew on the surface of her tea and ignored both her brothers as she sipped her purloined beverage.

Gaara turned away from the window lest he return his sibling's focus as to where he'd been last night. Though he still wondered what had happened between Temari and Shino. He decided it was between them though. It couldn't be too bad or Temari would have her fan out and ready to attack if it were.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata always woke early. But this morning she lazed in bed a bit longer than necessary. Dreamily she smiled as she mentally relived every wonderful moment of yesterday.

Suddenly her door cracked open, Hinata stiffened then relaxed as she recognized the person sneaking into her room. She turned her head and blinked over at her baby sister. Hanabi sat down on her sister's bed.

"Gimme." Hanabi said simply.

Hinata thought about playing dumb, but knew Hanabi would eventually get her way. With a dreamy smile she slipped her hand under her pillow and pulled out Chouji's festival gifts to her. Hanabi's eyebrows winged upwards.

"You're so sappy, putting it under your pillow like that." Then her voice faded as she looked down at the delicate matching hair pins. They were lilac flowers made with silk, each fold perfect and the flower was about the size of a child's fist. "These petals are hand painted." Hanabi whispered, her touch light.

Hinata smiled, her whole face lighting up with remembered pleasure when she'd opened the gift, Chouji's eyes on her. She remembered too how happy he'd been when she'd been delighted with his gift.

Suddenly Hanabi fought not to choke up, her eyes slid away from her sister.

"Hanabi?"

The younger girl shook her head and shrugged. "You won't be living TOO far away. Same village and all. But it'll be hard to have early morning chats like this."

Hinata blushed and shook her head in denial. "There's been no talk of …"

"Bull." Hanabi grinned cheekily and put one of the pins in Hinata's long hair, turning her head this way and that to judge the look of it. "Chouji put a lot of thought into these. He must have hunted up and down for them."

Her blush intensifying, Hinata pulled the sheet up to her chin as she shook her head. "Hair pins aren't uncommon."

Hanabi reached out and put the second pin in her sister's hair and gave her a lopsided grin. "Hair pins as intricate as these? Give up, he went to a specialty shop. Name me one guy that we know that would go to that much trouble just for a festival gift if he weren't contemplating something more permanent. Come one, name one."

Hinata grinned and shrugged, her sheet slipping down as she reached up to touch the gorgeous pins. "He did go to one of those frilly stores didn't he?"

Hanabi giggled, her eyes lighting up. "Neji wouldn't have done that. Father would have sent a servant. Or one of us."

The dark-haired jounin shook her head. "Chouji said he picked them out himself, he told me they match my eyes."

The younger girl nodded and scrutinized the color a moment. "If you don't want him, cut him loose soon or you will hurt him badly."

Frowning, Hinata shook her head. "What are you talking about? Why would I let go of Chouji?"

"The Uchiha."

Hinata's chin turned stubborn, sniffing the air as if she smelled something foul. "I never encouraged Sasuke."

Hanabi grinned and gave a small bounce on the bed. "So, do you mind if I take him?"

Hinata couldn't have been more shocked than if a real life unicorn had suddenly appeared in her front yard. "What? No, Hanabi don't pin your hopes on a match like that. Father would never allow it."

The younger girl grinned and shrugged. "With you and Neji married off, that leaves only me. And after a certain talk I had with him, I have come to realize that …I can marry anyone I like."

Gaping, Hinata just stared at her sister. "Hanabi!"

"It's true!" The young genin grinned. "Well, not that I have to decide for good just yet. I have a few more years before taking THAT big a leap."

"Father would have a fit if he heard you talking like this!"

Hanabi's smile turned cheeky as she confessed. "If you marry Chouji, and that's looking really solid right now, then father has no other heirs to turn to, just me." She leaned forward toward her older sister. "You will have to be marriage sealed to marry the Akimichi heir, so that all your children will be Akimichi clan members."

Hinata's face went beet red at the thought of children, she fanned herself as her sister watched.

Hanabi continued unabated. "However, I can not be marriage sealed. I am the heir to the Hyuuga clan. Any husband I marry has to be sealed himself. Very few families of the right caliber will allow their heir to enter into such a marriage. They'll only offer second sons. Sasuke, on the other hand, comes from a long and well known clan. He has money, land, and he is willing to give up his name." Hanabi leaned forward once more. "And he's hot!" She giggled.

Hinata smiled ruefully as she watched her baby sister go on and on about how 'hot' and 'cute' Sasuke was. All she could think of was 'poor father'. Then she nearly choked as she realized that she really should be thinking was 'poor Sasuke'.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade growled as her student handed her a medicinal drink guaranteed to ease her hang-over. She took a tentative swallow, paused, then downed the whole drink. A moment later she was able to focus her eyes.

"Ino, darling. You are a doll. The one Shizune makes for me doesn't taste nearly this good. And she always skimps on the mint."

The blonde kunoichi smiled at her sensei, silently thanking her father for his 'secret' recipe. Over the years she'd made it often for her dad, not that he over-imbibed too much, but when he got together with Choza and Shikaku things could get over indulgent pretty fast.

"Tsunade-sensei …" Ino started, only to stall as Tsunade held up one hand imperiously.

"No."

"But I haven't even asked you anything yet." Ino said, wincing a little to hear the whine in her voice.

"No, you can not go to Suna at this time." Tsunade sighed, settling back into her chair. Looking around, she frowned at her own kitchen. "This isn't my office."

Ino nodded. She'd bearded Tsunade at home, risking the Hokage's wrath to try once more to negate the elder council member's punishment for her fight. "I helped clean up the mess I created. The Winter Festival went off without a hitch and …"

Tsunade cracked up, then groaned as the laughter hurt her head. "Without a hitch, that's damned funny." She grimaced, then re-focused her eyes on Ino. "Look, this isn't about being punished. Forget that, I took care of it. The council has no say in who I send to Suna."

"Oh." Ino relaxed a moment, then frowned. "Then why can't I go?"

The Hokage sighed as she looked at Ino. "It's been so long that I don't remember being your age. But I do remember those feelings." She shook her finger at the younger kunoichi. "Everything is now, now, now. Everything is so important that you'll die if you don't get your way."

Ino's eyes misted slightly. "This isn't a crush, this isn't like it was with Sasuke."

"Or Shikamaru?" Needled Tsunade. "Has Gaara said he loved you?"

Ino caught her breath, then shook her head very slowly.

Tsunade sighed. "Have you said it?"

The mind-control kunoichi bit her lip and shook her head. "It's too soon." She hedged, not admitting that she'd almost said it last night, only catching herself at the last moment. "But we'll never find out if we can't see each other. And he can't stay here."

"He's the Kazekage of Suna. Think about that and all it means. No, he can not stay here." Tsunade said, growling in an almost gentle manner. "Give it a few months, if you still feel the same I'll send you on a mission to Suna. Then you can see if he still feels the same."

Ino's stomach tumbled as she clenched her shaking hands. "What if he forgets about me? What if he finds someone else?"

"Then he wasn't the one for you." Tsunade said baldly. "Ino, you just broke up with Shikamaru. You've only been seeing Gaara for a month. You two are rushing things. Just give it some time to settle and then you'll be able to know your heart a bit better."

Ino thought about it a moment, then shook her head. "I know my heart now. No, Tsunade-sensei, listen to me. Please. Sasuke was a crush, an empty one as it turned out. I learned from that. Shikamaru was a friend that I …I felt that we ….he cares for me, but he doesn't love me romantically. I see the difference now. I've grown, I've learned. I know my heart already."

Tsunade stood and headed for the door, opening it to usher Ino out of her house. "You almost convince me. But Ino, what if THIS is another learning experience and the NEXT guy is the right one? Don't lose your head after only one month. Come back and see me in three months and we'll see."

"You're not keeping Sakura and Kiba apart." Ino could have kicked herself for saying that, the second it was out of her mouth. "Nevermind."

Tsunade glared at her. "Sakura didn't just dump a guy. She's been free for a while now, you're on the re-bound. Give it three months, you'll see it all differently then."

"One month." Ino's voice hardened. "And now I won't be changing my mind about him."

The Hokage growled and she pushed Ino out her door. "Two months." She slammed the door, then gagged as the heavy sound made her stomach churn. "Damn kids." She said as she made a dash for the bathroom.

o.o.o.o.o

It was nearing mid-morning when she stepped out of the apartment. She was chagrined to be pleased that he was still there, though she'd be hard pressed to explain why.

Temari really didn't have anyplace to be just then, but she found herself walking by Shino with her head up and her eyes ignoring him. She bustled down the street as if she had important matters to attend. Which was a complete lie. And she was mentally kicking herself for taking extra special care getting dressed this morning, trying to erase all signs of a sleepless night.

Shino fell in step beside her silently and she continued to ignore him. Three blocks later she realized that she didn't know where she was going. Deciding she preferred offense to defense she stopped dead in her tracks and turned to stare at him. "Are you stalking me?"

The bug-ninja shook his head 'no'.

"Then why are you following me?" She challenged him, her voice nearly belligerent.

Shino looked at her a moment, then nodded. "I have a gift for you."

Temari scowled. "I don't want a fucking present!"

His lips quirked the tiniest bit, making her eyes narrow on him dangerously. "It's not that kind of present."

She waited, but he didn't say anything else, nor did he hand her any gift. "Well?"

Shino nodded toward a different direction. "This way." He took a few steps down a different street, then stopped to wait for her.

She wanted to say no, she really, really wanted to say no …but curiosity got the better of her, she started after him. "I hope you know that no little trinket is going to make me any less angry with you. Toad."

He nodded and kept going. She made a face at his back. It may have been childish, but she did feel a bit better.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino took extra special pains to look her very best as she headed out the door to say goodbye to the departing Kazekage.

"Whoa! Young lady!"

The blonde made a face where her mother couldn't see her, then plastered on a smile as she turned. "Yes ma'am?"

"We didn't see you for breakfast." Her mother smiled and patted the seat next to her. Ino nearly groaned when she realized that her father was sitting at the table too.

"I'm not really hungry." She stalled, and it wasn't a lie. Her stomach was upset and her nerves were shot. She'd been trying against hope to come up with a last minute argument that would persuade Tsunade to let her head to Suna sooner than two months from now. Nothing short of going missing-nin was even plausible. Actually she could have used Shikamaru's help in this, but when she'd gone by his house on the way back from Tsunade's, he hadn't been home and she didn't have time to look for him.

Inoichi put down his paper and smiled at her. "You look lovely today."

"She looked lovely last night too." Her mother winked at her, Ino smiled wanly back at her.

"I'm sorry I missed you." Her father said lightly. "The Kazekage made a good impression on your mother. I'm only sorry that I wasn't back in time to see you two off. Your mother and I looked for you at the festival, but we must have missed each other. I hope you had a good time, I'm sorry you had to escort him rather than simply enjoy yourself. Did you have fun?"

"Yes." Ino said, her stomach threatening to rebel even further. Her parents had looked for her? "We had a lovely time, though I'm sorry we didn't run into each other."

Inoichi nodded absently and picked his paper back up. "I hear the Kazekage is returning to Suna today. I'm glad you two had a chance to catch up, it's hard when friends live in different villages."

_FRIENDS?_ Ino mouthed to her mother, who winked at her again with a small smile and shrugged as if to tell her not to burst Inoichi's bubble. But Ino, her nerves on the edge, couldn't let it slide. "He was my date."

Inoichi put down his paper again, frowning as he eyed his eldest child, and his only daughter. "Date?"

Chiyo rolled her eyes at her daughter. "I like him." She put her thoughts into the pot and stirred.

Her father sputtered, turning to stare at his wife. "He's a foreign ninja, a kage! If they marry he can't move here! Woman, bite your tongue!"

Ino sighed. "Dad? He's heading back to Suna." And it nearly made her cry to think about it. "I'm not." She didn't tell him she'd requested the medical teaching spot in Suna. What her father didn't know was the best for all of them.

"Oh, yes, right." Inoichi settled down a bit, still frowning.

Chiyo though gave her daughter a sympathetic look. "He'll be leaving soon, you might want to go say your goodbyes."

Ino smiled wanly, though she didn't feel like smiling at all.

Inoichi huffed a bit, then nodded and waved her away. "Go, go. How about you and I go out to lunch today? Father and daughter like we used to do. We can leave your brothers here."

That was the last thing she needed. "Sure, Dad." She agreed, needing to get out of the house before she exploded.

"We can share notes about the mess at the festival." He added.

Ino sighed. "We cleaned up the mess last night, before the festival ever started."

Inoichi laughed. "Not that mess. The fight." His gaze sharpened on her. "I thought you said you were at the festival last night. How did you miss the fight? Were you at the festival?"

o.o.o.o.o

Morino Ibiki knocked on Kurenai's door, wondering again why the meeting place had been changed. He felt odd being at her apartment for this, although he admitted to himself he'd have thought nothing of it before yesterday. When he'd thought she'd flirted with him with her eyes.

She opened the door and greeted him like an old friend, showing him into the den without a hint of shyness or flirty behavior.

Ibiki nearly kicked himself. He was reading far too much into a few glances, he needed to focus on the matter at hand. "Am I early?" He asked, seeing that Tsunade and Shizune weren't there yet.

Kurenai shook her head ruefully. "I made enough food for all of us, so I hope you brought your appetite. Tsunade is hung over and Shizune is stuck at the hospital covering some cases that went south last night."

"Uchiha?"

The pretty genjutsu widow shook her head. "No, a civilian trader with a fever that they can't pinpoint the origin. It doesn't look life threatening according to Shizune, but she didn't want to take any chances and is tracking down the man's movements."

"Smart." Ibiki nodded and took a seat at her table. He started to reach for a plate but she took it first and filled it with a huge helping of food. "I had breakfast." He told her with a wry smile.

"I made too much, eat!" Kurenai told him. "My son won't touch this, if it's not battered and fried he turns his nose up at it."

Ibiki took a bite and nodded his head in appreciation. "Young Sarutobi doesn't know what he's missing, this is delicious." He looked around the apartment, but didn't see the young boy.

Reading his look, Kurenai smiled. "I didn't need him underfoot while we had our meeting, so he's with his babysitter this morning."

_They were alone?_ Ibiki swallowed wrong and coughed. He needed to get his mind off how pretty the jounin kunoichi looked and concentrate on why he was there. "Should we postpone the meeting?" He offered, almost hoping that she'd agree. Then feeling relieved when she shook her head.

"No. Shizune told me that we should go ahead and discuss everyone and make some suggestions. She and Tsunade would look over them later." Kurenai smiled at him, then deliberately took the seat right next to him, pulling in closely.

Ibiki nodded, his nostrils flaring slightly at her scent. It was something light, but floral. Roses perhaps? Then he realized she'd asked him a question, and he had no idea what it was. "Excuse me?"

Kurenai smiled, pleased with the reactions she was getting from the tough man. Strong and rough, yet kind. This was going to be fun! She looked down at the list in her hands. "I asked if you thought any of the newest jounin were ready to take on a genin team?"

Ibiki nodded, relieved that they were back to business. "Some might be, let's take them one at a time. We have a huge crop of graduates from the Academy this year. Which is good as we need them, but it makes placing them all a bit of a scheduling nightmare."

Kurenai nodded. "Kiba is good, but I don't think he's seasoned enough yet. Although he's come far in his training and isn't nearly as impulsive as he's been in the past."

The ANBU division leader shook his head. "I think maybe next year, he's got a great deal of potential though. Not to mention that Iruka mentioned a set of brothers in next years graduating class that might be perfect for Kiba to teach." He paused a moment, gathering his words. "I'd been thinking the Aburame was ready to take a team, but after last night's performance at the festival, I'm no longer so sure."

The kuchoichi shrugged, absently brushing her shoulder against his arm. "Sorry." She murmured and scooted an inch further from him. "Actually, that outburst is a relief to me. Shows he's still human. And he did manage to keep the kikai from trying to devour Sasuke's chakra. So even boiling with emotions, he showed restraint. I'd say he's ready for a team."

"Good, I'll put him down. Hinata?" He asked, then hurried before she could answer. "I know she's capable, but her leadership abilities are …"

"Her shyness is improving, but don't worry, I won't bite your head off for putting her on the list for next year. She needs a bit more seasoning too." Kurenai told him gently.

Ibiki made notations on their list. "Sasuke is out for obvious reasons, but what about Sakura or Naruto? I have to say, Naruto has the strength, determination, and sheer will power to make me want to say yes."

"But?"

Ibiki sighed and shook his head. "You know that the council will be reluctant to grant him a team. The seals are holding well, but under the stress of sheparding a team, who knows?"

Kurenai nodded. "Let's put him and Sakura on the 'possible' side. Tsunade said something about wanting to keep that team together for right now, they work so well together and are the best ones to send for some of the higher ranking missions."

"Alright." He nodded. "What about Shikamaru, Chouji or Ino?"

Kurenai frowned, thinking of Asuma's former team. She pulled a bit back from Ibiki as she thought on her husband's genin team. "I may be too attached to them to give an accurate accounting." She admitted reluctantly.

Ibiki's eyes narrowed slightly. "More attached to them than your own team?"

Kurenai shrugged. "My team I adore, I promise you. But I've been training and evaluating them from the beginning. A…Asuma's team …."

"Oh." Ibiki winced, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

"Good memories." She assured him, shaking off her thoughts. "It's been long enough and while I'll never forget him, it's time to move on."

The ANBU shinobi tried to digest her words, but wasn't sure of her meaning. Was she saying it was time to move on herself? Or for Asuma's students?

"Shikamaru is brilliant, and he's definitely taken a leadership role within his own team. But …I don't know how that will translate into a genin team and those increased responsibilities. Chouji? Possibly, he's matured a lot in the last few years. Ino is still learning under Tsunade. I don't know how far that's come, we might need to leave that decision in the Hokage's hands." Kurenai said, shaking her head as if to say she just wasn't quite sure.

"We'll put them all on the 'possible' list and make notes for Tsunade's input, how's that?" Ibiki asked quietly.

"Thank you." Kurenai said, putting one hand gently on his forearm.

Ibiki stilled then told himself not to read to much into a slight touch. He cleared his throat before continuing. "What about Neji, Lee or TenTen?"

Kurenai pursed her lips, thinking it over. "Gai swears that Lee is ready and I tend to agree. He's matured a lot in the last few years. His training methods are over the top, but if there is an appropriate trio of graduates, I think he'll do well. Neji too."

"Not TenTen?" Ibiki asked curiously.

She blinked up at him quizzically, then laughed. "I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you Ibiki, seriously! I just didn't realize that you didn't know. TenTen is heading to Suna to teach weapon skills at their Academy this year."

"Oh!" Ibiki said, not taking offense at all. Actually, her laughter had made his nerves sit up and take notice. He shifted a bit uncomfortably, hoping she didn't notice.

Kurenai did notice, and was trying hard not to grin in victory. "We are getting Matsuri in her place. She's been a jounin only a month or two, but she knows her weaponry. Oh, and Temari is staying here to teach as well."

"What is going on with all these ninja going back and forth between Suna? I know we're allies, but this is ridiculous." Ibiki sighed, as if to say it was all a mystery to him.

"Romance."

"What?" He queried.

"Romance." Kurenai smiled up at him mischievously. "TenTen is seeing Kankuro, Matsuri is dating Lee, and Temari is dating Shino. Or she was before last night's fiasco."

Ibiki growled. "Romance only leads to trouble."

"Really?" She blinked at him, astonished. "How so?"

"It distracts a man and destroys his composure. Look at Shino for evidence of that. Before this thing with the Suna girl, I never would have thought him someone to lose it like that."

"I liked that he cares enough to lose it like that." Kurenai straightened up a bit, her gaze narrowing on his. "Or are we talking about you?"

"Me?" Ibiki frowned, then sighed. "Truce?"

Kurenai jerked her head in compliance, though she did ask, "Why do we need a truce?"

"Because you hit closer to the belt than I'm comfortable with." Ibiki admitted. "I saw you look at me last night and …I foolishly wondered if you were flirting with me. I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. But it's been distracting me ever since I got here and now I'm putting my foot in my mouth all over the place. I'm glad the youngsters are falling in love. It just would make it easier if they kept to the same village."

"Yes." She breathed out with a smile and a decided glint in her eyes.

"You agree with me?"

"No." She purred. "I meant, 'yes' I was flirting with you. Still am."

Ibiki stopped all movement, all thought, as his eyes honed in on hers.

She nodded slowly at him, making him feel lightheaded all of a sudden.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara didn't have the words to express how relieved he felt when he caught sight of Ino hurrying toward him. "You're late." Was all that came out even though there was a wealth of unspoken meaning behind those words.

Luckily, she knew him. She smiled, though she didn't really feel like it. "I had a hard time getting away. And remember, if my father ever asks, we were at the bookstall during the upheaval last night and missed it all."

"The bookstall? Why were we there?" He asked, surprised.

Ino grinned and took his hand in hers. "So that we don't have to explain where we really were."

Gaara nodded. "I got that, but why the bookstall?"

"It was the farthest from the fight."

"There was a fight?" He asked, his eyes widening, so that's what Kankuro had meant earlier. "With whom?"

Ino shrugged. "He didn't say, though I think it has to do with Sasuke."

"So what book was I looking for, during this made-up excursion to the bookseller?" He asked, his tone lighter than it had been a moment ago. "Just in case I'm asked."

Ino smiled brightly. "To be asked, you have to come back." She let the smile droop a bit. "Tsunade won't send me to Suna for at least two months. She's worried that my feelings aren't real so soon after the break-up with …well, you know."

Gaara looked startled, he hadn't even thought about that possibility.

She squeezed his hand roughly. "You were my first in more ways than one, so don't even think like that. Despite what your fangirls wrote about me, my feelings aren't that shallow."

"I'm new to all this." He admitted feeling awful that he'd doubted her even for a moment. "Hydrangea."

Ino caught his meaning immediately, but faked a frown. "I am neither frigid nor heartless." She sniffed pretending that she didn't know he meant _thank you for understanding_.

Gaara wasn't fooled for a moment, her eyes weren't looking hurt at all. "You know my meaning. Thank you for understanding ….me. Few do."

Her eyes misted up a bit as she nodded. "Hyssop." She said, attempting to put them back on a lighter note.

Startled, Gaara shook his head. "I must be missing something, doesn't hyssop mean to ward away evil spirits?"

Ino nodded. "To keep you from getting any more fangirls back in Suna."

He grimaced. "Don't forget, to some I am the 'evil spirit'."

"Not anymore." She smiled and looked around at everyone around them. His guards were giving them privacy, but they were out in the open for everyone to see. "I suppose it's in bad taste to kiss a foreign kage goodbye?"

Before the words were taken away by the light wind, she was in his arms. The kiss was deep, passionate, and emotional. Finally, she pulled back. "I didn't think you were the type for public displays."

"I'm not." He quirked his mouth into a small grin. "Look around you."

Ino did, then started laughing. The sand dome hid them from everyone's sight. "They'll guess." She told him.

"But they won't know." Gaara replied.

She sobered. "I'll miss you."

"Two months. Don't bother to come see me. I'll be back in two months."

Ino nodded, feeling worse than she'd ever had in her life. And yet strangely hopeful too.

"You're getting sand everywhere." A loud voice complained.

Gaara sighed. "I really should have killed him back when I was evil."

"That was the sand demon, not you." Ino giggled in spite of herself. "Be glad you didn't kill him, he's your brother."

"So they tell me." Gaara said, trying to lighten the mood as he let the sand flow back into his gourd. He narrowed his eyes on the puppeteer. "You ready to go?"

Kankuro nodded reluctantly, then looked at the kunoichi whose hand he was currently holding. "You ready?"

TenTen shook her head. "To let you go, no I'm not ready."

"Hey, hey! You'll be in Suna by next week." Kankuro reminded her.

Ino felt a pang of jealousy for her friend. Sensing this, TenTen let go of Kankuro's hand and reached for Ino's. The two girls stood together as the Suna contingent headed out for home.

The blonde's hand trembled a bit, but TenTen kept a firm grip on her. "It'll work out." She whispered.

Ino nodded, praying she was right.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari stood on the rooftop with Shino, looking down at where Shikamaru was laying out on a different roof, lazily watching the clouds.

"He doesn't even bother to come in from the cold." She sneered. "Too damned lazy by half."

"This isn't cold." Shino told her.

The blonde sniffed in derision. "We don't all have your kikai bugs to keep our body temperature regulated. It's cold."

"Not for Konoha." He said, though not unsympathetically.

Temari sighed, watched for a few more moments. "So …what's my gift?"

"Watch."

"I've been watching!" She snapped.

"Shhhh."

She growled and made a motion to grab her fan, feeling the need to hit him over the head with it several dozen times.

"There." He pointed.

Temari squinted her eyes and was about to make a snide remark when she noticed Shikamaru frowning and sitting up.

"Here they come." Shino whispered, though they were really too far to be overheard.

"Who?" She asked, then caught her breath as Suzue and Harumi swept into the area and made a bee-line for Shikamaru. Her eyes widened almost comically as Shikamaru gestured at the girls to leave him alone. Then she actually grinned as the two fan girls flanked the shadow-nin and sat down next to him, obviously chatting away.

Temari turned her wide eyes on Shino. "What did you do?" She asked straight out.

"A gift for you." Shino told her.

The blonde looked back and caught the expression on Shikamaru's face, even from her distant perch he looked miserable. She fought not to smile and failed, but a moment later she was able to wipe her own expression clean and turn to her companion. "So, you'd stoop so low as to throw a friend to the wolves in order to make me happy?"

"Yes." Shino nodded. "He hurt you."

She narrowed her teal-colored eyes on him. "You hurt me."

"Then get back at me, just don't cut me out of your life." He said plainly. "I'm not letting you go easily."

"You did before." She sneered.

"I was a fool." He admitted without embarrassment. "Take out your fan and kick me from here to Suna and back. But give me a chance."

Torn, Temari just turned away from him. Then actually giggled as she saw that one of the fangirls was trying to tug the band from Shikamaru's hair. "Oh, that's not going to go over very well." She sighed. "Okay, I'll admit that your gift was far better than any chocolate or trinket. How did you manage it?"

Shino shrugged. "Merely pointed out to the girls that their great rival Ino had been unable to land Shikamaru."

"I'm surprised you didn't name Sasuke instead."

"I did. They weren't interested. Not after seeing him covered in hives."

At that, Temari actually laughed. Shikamaru turned toward the sound and both she and Shino ducked quickly, making her laugh all the harder.

Shino watched her, relieved more than he could say. No, she'd not forgiven him yet. But this first foray to win her back seemed to have gone well.

Temari turned her head to keep from looking at Shino. He might have hurt her, but at least he knew her well enough to get her the right kind of 'gift'. She sighed. "I'm out of here."

He nodded as she took off without a backward glance. It was a start at least.

o.o.o.o.o

**Hope you enjoyed! REVIEWS are always nice.**

**This chapter's title is taken from an old song ...I've been singing it off and on all day ... LOL!**


	28. Treasonous Thoughts

**Two weeks after the Winter Festival …**

"I protest." The voice was quiet, even tempered, yet demanding all at the same time.

Tsunade looked darkly amused as she sat back in her office chair, crossing her arms. Her eyes narrowed on her current victim. "You don't have that right." She paused a moment, as if to savor the next word. "Genin."

Sasuke didn't let his emotions show on his face, though he was pretty sure that the lady Hokage knew of his disgust with the whole situation.

"Then I request to be tested immediately for jounin." He steepled his fingers and focused to keep his breathing calm.

"Genin can not test for jounin, that's the rule. It was put into place to keep untested new ninja from dying before they could become of actual use to Konoha." Tsunade mirrored his movements with her own hands.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes on her. "These are not normal circumstances. You _could_ make an exception." He guessed, but was pretty sure he was right.

"Yes." She nodded, waiting for him to nod in return looking relieved. "But I won't."

"Might I ask why?" He managed to keep the snarl out of his voice and off his face.

Tsunade nodded, then waited. Several moments passed before he gave in and actually asked the question. "Why then?"

"The chuunin exams are too near. I don't have the manpower or the resources to test you properly when so much is being put into the other students." She smiled, but it wasn't a friendly one. "Students who, I might add, never betrayed an oath to this village. I'm afraid your wish to avoid acting as a genin loses precedence to that."

"So, we're back to that, are we?" He said shortly, then sighed.

Tsunade leaned forward, resting her chin on her fist. "We never left _**that**_, as you put it. You may have won over the council, but I'm not such an easy target. You've already proven willing to break a solemn oath. How can I possibly trust in your words now?"

Sasuke just watched her, his eyes wary. "Is that why you've not asked for my oath? Don't I have to give one to you though, in spite of that?"

"I won't ask you to swear to me or to the village until I am certain that an oath from you is worth more than just the exhalation of air as you speak." She said coldly, her eyes deadly serious.

Sasuke nodded, as far as he saw it she was just one more person in a very long list that he had to convince of his trustworthiness. "Fine. I suppose now that your medics have cleared me to go back to training, that I should report to my new ….team."

Tsunade grunted and waved him away.

He sighed and continued to stand there until she looked back up at him. "You haven't told me who my new sensei will be."

The blonde smiled with enough evil pleasure on her face that Sasuke knew that he was in for it now.

o.o.o.o.o

Gai sighed.

The sound was enough to make Kakashi put down his book and stare at the other man. He debated on whether or not to ask anything, then decided not to get involved and picked up his book again.

A moment or two later, the copy-nin realized that he and Gai were no longer alone at their table. Cautiously he peered over the top of his book and then smiled at Inuzuka Tsume. The nin-dog kunoichi bared her teeth at him without flashing fang, that was close enough to a smile he guessed.

"I need advice." She opened without preamble.

Shocked, Kakashi actually put the book down on the table.

Gai sighed again, looking away.

Her attention caught, Tsume turned to stare at the Mighty Green Beast of Konoha. Looking over at Kakashi she asked a different question. "Is he sick?"

The copy-nin shrugged, then frowned. "Come to think of it, he hasn't said more than three words to me since he sat down."

Frowning, both ninja stared at Gai who just shook his head at them. "No, dear rival, I am not ill. Of the body, I mean. I pursued to break my own record in push-ups this day, and have set a new standard in training. I am as strong as ever, even more so! The blossom of youth is not mine as it once was, but I bloom still upon the branch of strength and vitality!"

Tsume sniffed, but didn't interrupt. Gai's version of 'training' could be a bit on the intense side. "So, what gives? Upset about Hana dating your former student?"

Gai perked up at that as Kakashi's eyes widened. "Ah Neji! My student has taken my advice to heart and won the hand of a beautiful blossom. It is always good to see your students prevail!"

"Neji and Hana?" Kakashi whistled. "I hadn't heard about that."

"Well, you and your team were out on a mission last week." Gai sighed, though this time with a wide smile full of sparkly white teeth.

Tsume shook her head in amusement. "The Hyuuga lad even came to me for advice. Asked me about Hana's birthday, favorite colors and foods, and asked if she had any food allergies. It was all very odd."

The copy-nin laughed. "No doubt he was just trying to avoid being termed 'relationship lazy' and 'forgetful' again." Kakashi paused and contemplated Tsume carefully. "You did give him good advice, I hope?"

Tsume's eyes widened and she shook her head. "I can't believe you'd doubt that. Hana is not only my daughter, but my heir." She turned once more to Gai. "So, what does have you so upset?"

Gai sighed morosely, going from emotional high to emotional low. "I miss my beautiful young TenTen. Matsuri is a delight, of course! Yet, my team will no longer be the same. Gone, all gone. Lee and Neji have been asked to take on genin teams later this year, and thus our team is no more. I just feel like a parent must when their baby birds have learned to fly and are now on their own."

Kakashi rolled his one visible eye at the flowery speech, even as he nodded in agreement. "I felt much the same when Naruto and Sakura teamed up to defeat me in training. Like I'd lost a step somewhere. Still, Gai …at least TenTen is a fine reflection on your teaching and training ideals. She will represent us well, no matter where she is."

"Unlike Sasuke, you mean?" Tsume asked pointedly.

Kakashi's face fell into stoic lines as he turned once more to the Inuzuka clan leader.

Tsume held one hand out, palm up. "I ask only because that's the crux of my coming to you for advice."

"Oh?" Kakashi asked a bit wearily. "How so?"

Tsume growled and curled her lip a bit. "It seems he's to become a member of my genin team. I'm his new sensei."

Kakashi whistled low in sympathy even as Gai heartily congratulated Tsume on being given such a fine opportunity to reform the young man in question.

o.o.o.o.o

Baki was concerned. He watched as Kankuro ran across the courtyard, hastily gobbling down an apple.

The guard beside him watched as well. "In a hurry I'd guess, he's got a date tonight."

Baki nodded at Iwao, not answering.

The man continued. "He's got a date with …."

"I know who he's dating." Baki snarled, interrupting the younger shinobi. "If he weren't dating the Leaf kunoichi, she wouldn't be here in Suna teaching at our Academy in the first place."

Iwao nodded, not intimidated at all. He wouldn't have been assigned to the Kazekage's personnel if he weren't made of stern stuff. "My youngest brother is at the Academy this year, he's been gushing about how she knows every weapon in existence."

Baki sighed, barely keeping from snapping the head off the guard. It wasn't Iwao's fault, Baki knew his temper wasn't the best these days. "I don't know that anyone could know every weapon, still, I'll admit she's off to a good start even though she's only been here a week."

The guard nodded, not sure where this conversation was going, he waited to let Baki speak first. But the wind shinobi didn't continue. Finally, Iwao cleared his throat. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"I've heard a rumor." Baki started, then turned to pin the guard with a hard stare. "That our esteemed Kazekage was …different ….while in the Leaf village?"

Iwao stiffened, but nodded. "I and the guard detail were there, sir."

The wind shinobi sighed, praying for patience. "I know that, that's why I asked you here!" He growled. "I want to hear about it."

The young man squared his shoulders as he narrowed his eyes on his superior. "We are part of the Kazekage's guard detail for when he's on foreign soil. What passes there, what we see or hear, we tell to no one." He swallowed grimly. "Sir."

Baki growled impatiently. "I know that! I trained and picked you all myself! I'm not looking for anything harmful. Kankuro told me that …that …Gaara had met a girl." He said this as if saying that suddenly a giant carrot had appeared in the sky. As if such an idea was an impossibility.

Iwao thought it over long and hard before sliding his eyes away. "I would not …deny …such a thing. Nor would I call the Kazekage's brother a liar."

"Kankuro's views may be skewed by wishful thinking, however." Baki said softly, his eyes taking in every nuance of the other man's face, heart rate, and any other tell-tale signs that would help him judge this conversation later. "Since his return from Konoha, the Kazekage's temper …has been less than good." He said in a mild understatement. Not that Gaara was taking it out on anyone else but himself, still, Baki hated to see him like this.

Iwao grunted, caught in a quandary. "In such a case, I would tell you to trust the puppeteer on this one."

"So it is the girl." Baki growled and shook his head. "According to my …source …the girl wanted to come back to Suna with him? But the Hokage intervened?"

The guard shrugged. "I would be unaware of such motivations, sir. I do not know the reasons. I know only what I see."

Baki nodded. "Well?"

The guard grimaced. "They said goodbye to each other and it didn't look like either wanted to go. Then the Kazekage surrounded the two of them in a sand dome. I do not know the reason."

"But you can guess."

"No." Iwao's eyes met Baki's straight on. "I can only _hope_."

Stiffening with surprise, Baki shook his head.

The guard made a decision. "This is a breech of my duties, but sir …all of us there, all the guards hope that the Yamanaka girl will be allowed to visit Suna. Soon. And to stay."

"Before this visit to Konoha, Gaara had been calm, contented even." Baki said quietly. _Alone_, he added, though only to himself.

Iwao took a deep breath. "While in Konoha, I have …I would almost swear he was happy. Or close to it."

"Happy?" No other word to describe Gaara could have shocked Baki more. "On what do you base that observation?"

Throwing caution to the wind, the guard motioned Baki closer. "He fell asleep in her presence several times. Also, by the time we left, he was no longer using his sand armor around her. And, on a few occasions, we actually heard laughter."

Baki looked away, suddenly stung. He'd long ago written off his student as someone who would die alone and horrifically. Ever since the sand demon had been removed, however, things had become better. Still, Gaara would not have been someone that any one would have deemed a 'happy' person.

"Thank you." He said softly, dismissing the guard. Baki stood there for what felt like eternity, then reached into his cloak and pulled out a crumpled up piece of paper. "Gaara," he whispered to himself alone. "Forgive me for breaking your trust, I do this for your own good."

o.o.o.o.o

Ino shook her head, smiling ruefully. "No, that's alright. I'm fine."

Sakura looked still looked worried though as the two girls sat in the medic's lounge at the hospital. "Come out with us, really. Or ...I could break it off tonight and it could just be us girls, Kiba would understand."

A real laugh escaped her then, as Ino shook her head again. "No he wouldn't. He's all about your these days."

"I'm sorry." Whispered Sakura.

Ino reached over and lazily whacked her pink-haired friend with a patient chart. "Don't apologize for being happy. I'm happy for you." She smiled gamely. Actually, although feeling hurt, she really was delighted for her friend. "I'm serious."

Sakura caught the chart Ino was wielding as a weapon and put it down on the 'done' stack. She picked up the next chart and handed it to her blonde friend before taking one for herself. "Two months will be gone in a flash. We'll just keep you busy, that's all." She offered in moral support.

"Yeah." Ino whispered, her eyes suddenly misty and shifting away.

Sakura growled. "That's it! You're coming over tonight and we're eating a ton of ice cream and watching really gory movies all night."

Ino shrugged and shook her head. "He hasn't written. Two weeks, and I haven't heard a thing." She looked up miserably. "Is Tsunade right? Was I just on the rebound and this …we …didn't mean anything?"

Sakura stuck out her chin and said what she needed to say to cheer up Ino, even though she wasn't sure she was right. "He cares. You'll see, at the end of two months, you'll see that it was all real."

Ino nodded, knowing that she was choosing to believe those words without even the slightest evidence that Sakura was right.

"Besides, you haven't written him either." Sakura said, guessing.

Groaning, Ino dropped her head onto her stack of patient charts. "I've tried! I just …I don't know what to say! Besides, he's the guy, he should write first."

"Does he know that?" Sakura said gently, pulling Ino's long ponytail out from under her cheek. "He was raised as a weapon. Alone. You know that. You told me yourself that it was unbelievably charming how he didn't know how to 'date' and you got to teach him."

Ino blinked up at her friend, then raised her head hopefully. "You're right." She whispered, horrified. "Maybe he's in Suna right now wondering why I haven't written to him! What was I thinking?"

Sakura continued to comfort her friend, praying that she hadn't just pushed her friend in the wrong direction.

o.o.o.o.o

"Surprise!" Neji smiled, whipping the blindfold off a grinning Hana.

The Inuzuka heiress looked around at the elegant picnic spread out in the Hyuuga library and laughed. "This is wonderful! I can't believe you did all this."

Neji sighed happily and gestured for her to take a seat on the blanket. He pulled out a bottle of wine and presented it to her for her inspection.

Hana nodded and waved at him to go ahead. Neji ignored that she didn't seem to notice that he'd scrounged three stores just to find this one wine. He opened it and poured her a glass, handing it to her with a simple flourish.

"An indoor picnic? You didn't have to go to all this trouble." Hana took the wine, sniffed it and took a small sip before putting it down.

"You don't like the wine?" He asked, sniffing his own before tasting it. It seemed fine. It was too sweet for his tastes, but then, this was for her after all.

Hana winked at him and shook her head. "I'm fine, I'm not much for wines."

Neji blinked, wondering if he'd written down the wrong wine. He'd have to check with Tsume later. He'd thought he was buying Hana's favorite. In the meantime, he reached into one of the two baskets and pulled out a wrapped present.

Hana's eyes widened in surprise. "Oh! What's the occasion? I …I didn't get you anything. You should have warned me somehow."

Neji paused, then quirked his head at her. "It …it's for your birthday." He said hesitantly, wondering if she was one of those women who didn't like to celebrate birthdays. "I don't mean you're …I hope I haven't offended you."

"Birthday?" Hana blinked, then grinned widely. "You're a tad early."

The young Hyuuga fell still, suddenly aware that he may have fallen into a trap. "Your birthday isn't today?"

The kunoichi shook her head, still smiling. "April 13th, actually. You're about two months too early. I know your 'undateable' picture mentioned you were forgetful …but it didn't say anything about being …premature." She said with a small leer.

Neji groaned, his eyes huge with mortification. "I'll kill her."

Frowning, Hana looked at him questioningly.

"Do you like this wine? I mean, is it your favorite that you absolutely love?" He asked bluntly. "And are you allergic to nuts?"

"No and no." Hana told him, sitting up straighter as she gazed at him. "Who told you all this about me?"

"Your mother." He growled, sighing deeply.

"You asked, or she volunteered?" Hana questioned, trying not to laugh.

Neji shook his head morosely. "I didn't want to live up to my _**reputation**_ of being forgetful or relationship lazy. I asked her for some information. I was so pleased to find out your birthday was today and that I hadn't missed it."

"Don't kill her." Hana whispered, scooting closer to him. "Please."

"Why shouldn't I?" He groaned. "She tried to make me look like a fool."

Hana shrugged, tilting her head toward him. "You don't look foolish from here." She told him gently. "In fact, you look pretty delicious."

Neji's temper slipped out of his fingertips as he looked into her dark eyes instead. "Oh?" He teased, blowing a breath out over her lips.

"If you go to hunt her down, then you wouldn't be here with me." Hana purred, closing the distance between them.

Neji met her half-way as their lips met in a clinging kiss. He pulled back just long enough to pull her closer to him. "She'll get a reprieve, for now."

She grinned, and pulled his head back down to meet hers.

o.o.o.o.o

Ibiki groaned and sat down at the table with Kurenai, looking over the menu before ordering his usual grilled fish.

"He didn't mean it." Kurenai said, trying hard not to fight a smile.

"Yes he did." Ibiki told her, then went ahead and smiled for the both of them. "He's just telling me without words where I stand."

"He's a toddler." She explained. "Besides, he still doesn't like to talk much in front of new people."

"He's a monster." He told her.

Kurenai mock scowled at him, slapping at his hand as it reached for hers. "My son is not a monster."

"I mean that in only the best way possible." Ibiki assured her. "All little boys are supposed to be little monsters. If they're angels? THEN you have to watch out."

The pretty brunette kunoichi sighed and let him capture her hand. "I don't know what to do with him."

"He's protecting his mother from the evil monster." Ibiki leaned in to whisper. "That would be me." He informed her, as if she hadn't already caught on to that.

Kurenai bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "You're being so good about this."

Ibiki shrugged. "So he peed in my boots? I've dealt with worse." He paused and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Of course, that was by men considerably older and more dangerous than your son, but he has to start somewhere."

"He did look adorable as he ran away giggling." Kurenai laughed abruptly.

Ruefully, Ibiki shrugged. "To you he was adorable. I think he was trying to taunt me." He ran his thumb over her knuckles in a gentle caress. "Thank you for cleaning my boots."

"You're welcome." She smiled at him.

"And thank you for letting me stay at your place last night while the boots dried." He said with a wink and a leer.

Kurenai pulled her hand out his grip and slapped his hand. "You slept on the couch!" She reminded him.

Ibiki nodded. "It's closer to your bedroom than I was two weeks ago."

"You're impossible!" She scolded him lightly. "Two weeks ago I had to TELL you that I was flirting with you."

"Hey." He grinned. "I'm with the program now."

"Besides, it's too soon for you to be any closer to my bedroom." She said, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

Ibiki smiled and waited for whatever punchline she had in store for him.

"If my son had found you in my bed, it probably wouldn't be just your boots that had pee in them. He'd have aimed for your ear instead."

Ibiki shook his head. "No, remember? He's only a toddler, you said so yourself. His aim isn't good enough for that yet."

o.o.o.o.o

"You want her to do what?" Kankuro asked, stunned.

Baki handed the paper to TenTen. "You heard me."

The puppet master shook his head in disbelief. "This could be seen as treason. Sending missives to foreign nationals, even allies, behind the Kazekage's back? Do you have a death wish?"

"No." Baki said solemnly. "TenTen is the only one currently in Suna that can send a private letter to Konoha without raising any eyebrows. No one will even question it."

"What's in this letter?" TenTen asked suspiciously. She new Kankuro trusted his former sensei implicitly. She did not.

Kankuro grabbed it and opened it, smoothing it out. "It's crumpled." He commented, then read through the letter. "There's nothing here but some flower names. Or plants, some I've never heard of."

TenTen took the paper from him, scanning the contents. "I don't get it."

"I don't either." Baki said quietly, retrieving the letter and folding it back neatly. "But I'm hoping she does."

"Ino." Kankuro sighed and scowled. "Gaara would kill you for interfering."

"There are dozens of these up in his office, they overflow the waste basket. Yet he's mailed none." Baki told them. "And his temper hasn't been this bad since Shukaku was removed."

Kankuro nodded and stood, walking over to stare out over the desert village. "You're right about that." He allowed carefully. "But this …sending this to her could make it worse. Especially as we don't know what he means to say in this letter."

"No letters have come for him. She's not written either, but then, she might expect him to write first." TenTen took the letter from Baki once more, weighing it in her hand. "If she rejects him, sending this to her could make it worse."

"Or better." Baki sighed. "It's a gamble."

"Your gamble could get us all in a lot of trouble." Kankuro grimaced then turned and nodded at TenTen. "I'll take responsibility."

TenTen pulled out some paper and started writing even as Baki shook his head. "My idea, my responsibility. Besides, I stole that from his trash can. This is on my head."

Kankuro rubbed his eyes wearily. "I just hope 'cactus' and 'azalea' mean something good." He barked a humorless laugh. "I didn't even recognize the other plants on that list."

"Ino will." TenTen guessed as she quickly penned her note to the Yamanaka kunoichi. "I hope so anyway."

o.o.o.o.o

**Don't shoot me. I know Kiba didn't make an appearance, but he will, I promise! **

**However, I will be out of town for about a week for family stuff. I'll update when I get back. Hopefully I'll be able to update some of my other stories as well. There's just a lot going on right now. Nothing bad, just a lot.**

**THANKS for reading and remember, REVIEWS are always welcome ... LOL!**


	29. Shikamaru's Motivation

The shinobi narrowed his eyes in careful thought as he faced the difficult situation. Strategies raced through his mind as he systematically ran through each and every option open to him. None appealed.

His prey scrunched up his face and stuck his tongue out at him.

Ibiki fought the urge not to smile. Smiling would only encourage the boy, and that was the last thing he needed right now!

"You _will_ take a bath." The ANBU torture division leader said with measured slowness, his voice stern but not his 'scary' tones reserved for enemy shinobi.

"NO!" Shunin wailed angrily and threw the remaining half of his open-faced peanut butter sandwich at his tormentor. "NO BAFF!"

Ibiki easily dodged the sticky missile, he was a top-notch jounin after all. But while he moved slightly to the side the kid made a dash to get around him. The scarred shinobi managed to get an arm around the boy, but the perfumed oil the kid had slicked himself down with was slippery as hell. Ibiki didn't want to think about what Kurenai would say when she found out her son had dumped an entire bottle all over himself. Suddenly, he lost his grip as the oil-slicked boy went right through his arms. Shunin squealed with delight as he squirted out of Ibiki's grasp and ran laughing down the hallway.

Scowling, Ibiki started after the boy only to feel his bare left foot squinch into something extremely sticky. His eye twitched uncontrollably as he looked down and picked up his foot. The remains of the open-faced peanut butter sandwich stuck to the bottom of his foot like glue. Sighing deeply, Ibiki picked at the sandwich pieces, trying to get it all off his foot. He wasn't worried too much about Shunin running around half-nude and covered in his mother's perfumed oils. It wasn't like the boy could go anywhere ….

The sound of the front door opening had Ibiki's eyes growing wide with horror. When had the kid learned how to do that? And why hadn't he been warned?

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru's life currently sucked eggs. Big rotten ones. Two of them, to be exact. One currently on each side of him.

"Oh Shika …." One voice made him cringe.

"….Maru, wait up!" The other voice made him want to throw up.

The two Suna fangirls flanked both sides of him as he slouched his way lazily down the street on his errand. He ignored both girls as they chatted at him. How had Sasuke put up with this all his life? Shikamaru sighed. He had a new respect for the Uchiha's stamina and willpower. It must have taken a lot of effort not to kill Ino and Sakura all those years ago. Even now, Shikamaru fought not to let his fists close up and knock these two twits into the next country.

This was all Shino's fault, Shikamaru fumed. He'd briefly wondered if either Ino or Temari had been the culprit, but it had turned out to be ridiculously easy to get information out of Suzue and Harumi. They were so eager to answer anything he asked. Which sucked. Still, he'd been able to garner the name of his betrayer.

But planning revenge against Aburame Shino was useless. First, it would be too troublesome. Second, what would be the point? Would it get rid of the fangirls? No. And even if he DID manage to get rid of Suna's least-wanted kunoichi, what would Shino do next to try and impress Temari? No, revenge wasn't in the cards. Not yet anyway. He needed another way. Besides, he knew Shino was suffering already. Hell, the whole village practically knew.

The bug-ninja had spent the last two weeks doing everything in his power to try and win her back. Temari was only ignoring him. Suddenly, Shikamaru smiled, making both fangirls coo thinking that they had said something to make him react like that. Hmmm ...that could work, right?

Shikamaru turned in at Kurenai's building with the missive from the Hokage's office as he considered his idea. It _could_ work, he decided, it just needed some refining … and some help … and then …

The shadow-nin stopped and stared at the spectacle before them. Even the fangirls fell blessedly silent.

Shunin stopped and stared up at Shikamaru as well. The boy was nude except for a saggy diaper and he shone like the sun, glistening with something oily. His dark curls, full of oil and something brown and sticky, was sticking straight up in the hair.

Suzue sniffed the air. "Jasmine?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.

Harumi backed up a step, pinching her own nose shut. "Too much jasmine. Oil by the look of him."

Shikamaru nodded as he eyed Shunin carefully, then handseals flew as he stepped on the youngster's shadow.

Ibiki rounded the corner in a hurry and skidded to a stop. Shunin squealed and tried to take off, but was held fast by Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu. The ANBU shinobi sighed and scooped the protesting boy up into his arms.

"You're not supposed to use jutsu on children like that." Ibiki said, then sighed. "Thank you though. Little monster doesn't want to take a bath."

"NO BAFF! NO BAFF!" Shrieked a squirmy Shunin as the boy tried to wiggle his way out of captivity. He almost got away, so slicked down with oil was he, but Ibiki was a determined man.

"Kurenai's not in?" Shikamaru was sure of the answer, otherwise Shunin wouldn't be running around loose like this.

"Lunch meeting with the other genin team leaders." Ibiki winced as one of Shunin's little toddler fists connected with his nose. There wasn't any pain, it was just that the boy was wearing too much scented oil and he _stunk_. Badly.

Shikamaru nodded his thanks and turned to leave, but something made him turn back around. He sighed as he saw Ibiki wince again as Shunin grabbed his head covering and started banging his little fists on the other man's skull.

"Ewwww!" Suzue and Harumi sneered, looking away from Ibiki's scars.

Shikamaru gritted his teeth. How could they call themselves chuunin and react like that to honorably attained scars? He had to get rid of the little twits, and damned soon! He sighed, looked at Ibiki. Pity moved him, that and experience with the tyke. "Pretend to cry." He said vaguely, and then turned to head out to find Kurenai.

Ibiki nodded, not really catching what Shikamaru said as he pulled Shunin's fingers out of his nose. "Don't do that!" He said sternly, and then he wondered if he'd over done it with the 'stern' voice as Shunin started wailing and kicking.

As several kicks connected to his ribs, he decided, the kid wasn't scared at all, just mad. Ibiki's eyes twitched again as he entered the apartment, making sure to lock the front door. Shunin slipped out of his grasp as Ibiki sighed and sniffed his fingers. Waaay too much oil on the kid. "Bath time." He said firmly.

"Noooooo!" The kid screeched and ran down the hallway to hide.

Ibiki sighed. "He sure has speed, I'll give him that." A crashing sound followed by a high pitched wail made him run after the boy. The evidence of a lamp on the floor led him to the correct room and he was finally able to corner the boy. But Shunin was giving him a mulish look that boded no good for Ibiki. How was he supposed to ….suddenly, he 'heard' Shikamaru's strange advice. _Pretend to cry_? Still, what could it hurt?

For lack of any better ideas, Ibiki took a seat and put his head in his hands and pretended to cry a bit. It didn't take ten seconds before a small hand patted his own hands and a strong smell of jasmine teased him. Ibiki peeked through his fingers to see Shunin put his head down on his thigh and try to comfort him. "It awright, it awright." The boy tried to comfort him.

Not wanting to lose this moment, Ibiki slowly raised his head. "I will get in so much trouble if you're not clean when your mother comes home." He whispered.

Shunin held up both hands. "Baff?"

Ibiki caught his breath and picked up the young boy, heading toward the bathroom. Damn, that Shikamaru was brilliant! Sure, as Asuma's student he'd been over here a lot and knew Shunin well, still …damn that Nara boy was smart to have figured this out! That or desperate. Ibiki grinned down at the boy as he deposited him into the bath water. "You're a little monster, aren't you?"

"Mon-ser!" Shunin giggled and splashed the bath water into Ibiki's face.

o.o.o.o.o

"But Shikamaaaru …" Harumi wheedled, twirling one finger in her long hair trying to look coy. "You have to stop for lunch sometime, surely the Hokage knows that. She won't mind."

He didn't feel like arguing the point that he was on an official errand. Especially since he wasn't, not really. He'd been hanging around the Hokage's office hoping for a mission, troublesome as that seemed. Shizune had taken pity on him and asked that he deliver a message to Kurenai. He'd accepted, anything to get away from …

"Oooo!" Suddenly Shikamaru was wrapped in a double set of arms, one girl blowing in his ear. He wasn't quite sure which one, because frankly it was too troublesome to care. They only did this when they spotted someone they knew and didn't like. Which apparently meant any kunoichi in the Leaf vilalge. Looking around, Shikamaru grunted a greeting to a smirking Anko. By her side, Sai just nodded quietly at him and said nothing.

"Little trouble, Nara?" Anko cooed mockingly as Harumi stuck out her tongue at the snake kunoichi. Anko snapped her teeth at the girl, who pulled back into Shikamaru's side. "They lack an appropriate sense of ...self preservation."

The shadow-nin's eye twitched in annoyance. Then he looked over at Sai. "You had this problem, how did you get rid of … it?"

Sai looked at the fangirls and nearly shuddered.

"How did you get away?" Shikamaru asked again.

Sai shrugged. "Anko took care of them."

"And then I took care of him." Anko smirked lasciviously as she winked. "And I still am."

At that, Sai looked over at Anko and then over at Shikamaru who still had two fangirls attached like limpets to his sides. Sai looked back at Anko who licked her lips at him. Sai turned back to Shikamaru. "Find a different solution, you can't have mine."

Anko cackled as Sai ushered her away from Shikamaru as fast as he could.

The shadow-nin sighed and shook his head. "As if I wanted your solution. She's scarier than these two." He muttered under his breath.

"What was that Shika-kun?"

He winced and kept walking, unfortunately they followed. They ALWAYS followed. Shikamaru slouched a bit more as he ignored their inane ramblings.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba pushed his food around, his appetite non-existent. Shino hadn't even bothered to order any food. Ayame stood there scowling at the two of them.

"Is the food not good enough?" She asked, affronted. "And you, taking up counter space!"

"No, no, it's perfect!" Kiba tried to reassure her. "It's ...well, my teammate here is miserable over a girl and ...it's …it's just that I had a different date in mind for this afternoon."

Shino sighed and said nothing.

Ayame pursed her lips and nodded, then sighed. "Me too, but the other girl couldn't come in because she's sick with that fever that's been going around. I'm supposed to meet up with Naruto, but it looks like I'm stuck. I guess I'll just have to send a message to cancel."

Shino looked away without response.

Kiba clucked his tongue chidingly at his teammate then ignored him as he looked over at Shikamaru. "You look miserable too, go sit by Shino and you'll be a matching pair."

"He does not! Take that back! How can a creep like you even say such a thing!" Harumi scolded the dog-nin as Suzue sniffed the air as if smelling something rotten.

Everyone ignored them.

Shikamaru shrugged lazily and turned a gimlet eye on Shino in accusation. The bug-nin finally looked up and grunted. "This is all your fault, trying to impress Temari." Shikamaru said baldly.

"That blonde cow!" Suzue shrieked, balling up her fist. "Always looking down on us and making remarks about us to our sweet Gaara!"

Harumi smiled evilly. "Gaara? See, your love for Shika-kun is soooo shallow. Why don't you sneak out to Suna and leave me with my beloved?" She petted Shikamaru's shoulder and he fought the urge not to hurt her.

Suzue stiffened. "That's not what I meant, stupid nag! But you're the one who is shallow if you're already over your 'deep and impassioned love' for our Kazekage! But he has made himself clear and now I find myself drawn to Shikamaru like a magnet to a lodestone. That doesn't mean I've lost my ...respect ...for Gaara. Like you seem to have done."

Kiba rolled his eyes as Ayame turned away so the other girls wouldn't see her smile. The two girls kept bickering back and forth, back and forth.

Shikamaru sighed. "You know, on a cold day like this, it makes me think of hot chocolate." He mused aloud to no one in particular.

Twin gasps were followed by both girls making a mad dash for the nearest café.

"I'll get it!"

"No! It will be me who brings my beloved a rich chocolate drink!"

Kiba grinned and shook his head as he watched the two girls disappear. "How much time will that give you?"

"Not enough." Muttered Shikamaru as he turned toward Shino. "And now I have to drink two damned cups of that crap."

The bug-nin didn't blush as he too stared at Shikamaru. "I won't apologize. You hurt Temari and Ino a lot with what you did, dating them both like that. Lying to them."

The shadow-nin shrugged. "Not looking for an apology, I just want to know if you're done. Or will I need to keep looking over my shoulder?"

Shino shrugged. "Depends. I've tried for nearly a whole month now, ever since the Winter Festival and the only time she even spoke to me was when I sicced the fangirls on you. Unfortunately, getting back at you looks like my only viable option. Right now though, I can't even get her alone in order to talk."

Shikamaru nodded and looked off at the distant horizon. No one spoke for a few moments, each lost in their own dour thoughts. Finally the shadow-nin turned back toward them, waving to indicated he was speaking to both shinobi. "A favor for a favor?"

Kiba and Shino both stiffened, then shrugged at each other. "What kind of favor?" Kiba spoke first.

"I get Temari in a room alone with you, you take care of the rest." Shikamaru offered. "In exchange for your help ditching the Suna duo."

Shino thought it over carefully, then shook his head negatively. "No. That's only one favor. There are two fangirls, so there should be two favors. You have to do TWO things for me."

Shikamaru sighed. "What's the second favor you want?"

Shino held up one finger. "Get me alone with Temari where we can talk." He held up the second finger. "Help Ino out, she's miserable right now."

Kiba nearly dropped his jaw as he stared at his teammate. "Ino? Sure, hey …I'd like to see her snap out of it, but what's she to you?"

"Fellow ninja." Shino shrugged. "But if Ino gets happier, then Sakura won't be plastered to her side anymore. Then you can get your girlfriend back. I doesn't matter what you do, but if you can cheer up Yamanaka, you've got a deal."

Kiba grinned and slapped Shino on the back, which the bug-nin didn't really appreciate, but he did tolerate it. "I like the way you think."

"SHIKAMARU!" Two girlish voices yelled from down the street.

They all turned and stared at the two girls carefully bringing back huge cups of a steaming liquid.

"I won't tell those two what you're up to if you'll do something for me." A soft voice interjected from behind them.

Shocked, all three shinobi turned toward a suddenly blushing Ayame who held up her hands defensively. "Hey, you were the ones talking openly around me."

Shikamaru snorted and shook his head at his own slip, talking in front of Ayame could prove to be a troublesome mistake. "Why didn't you attend the Academy? That was actually a nice move. So? What do you want from me?"

Ayame looked away as she wiped down the countertop. "I just …if you'll just find Naruto and tell him that I'm stuck here at the ramen shop for a while. I don't want him to think that he's been stood up and I haven't had time to find a messenger."

"Is that all?" Kiba reached down and picked up his bowl, slurping down the last of his lunch. "I'll take care of that one for you. Shikamaru, you concentrate on Ino and Sakura and I'll find Naruto for Ayame. I've got the best nose for it anyway."

The sound of giggling came closer, as did the sound of two girls arguing whose cup Shikamaru would drink from first.

Shino actually fought not to smile. "How long do you think this will take?"

"When was the last time Temari saw you, physically saw you?" Shikamaru hurried, before the fangirls could get to him.

"Two days. My father needed me and I couldn't get away. I sent her a message, it was returned unopened."

"Perfect." Shikamaru nodded. "Any recent injuries that you've had? Ones that Temari already knows about?"

Suspiciously, Shino eyed the shadow-nin, then shrugged. "Small cut two months ago, in a swamp. It got infected. I've been fine though. It healed."

"Perfect." Shikamaru stated coolly. "Go home. Temari will visit you by the end of the day today. Don't let anyone see you in the village. You haven't run into any of Temari's friends today though, have you?"

"No." Shino sat up straight, as if weighing the dependability of the other shinobi. "When do you want me to think of a way to get rid of your ….excess baggage?" He finished just as Suzue and Harumi arrived, nudging each other while trying to spill the contents of the other girl's cup while keeping her own intact.

Shikamaru sighed and took both cups, turning his back to the girls. "Thanks." He mumbled, sending the two fangirls into squeals of happiness. His gaze bore into Shino's eyes despite the darkened glasses. "You don't have to think of a thing. I already have a plan, I just need assistance."

"I'll help you with whatever you need, Shika-kun!" Both girls giggled in harmony, having no clue they were volunteering to help get rid of themselves.

"Good." Shikamaru smiled ruefully. "This couldn't happen without you two." He said, trying to hide the deep sarcasm in his voice.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba found Naruto easily, it wasn't like the blond shinobi was trying to hide. "Yo! Ayame says she's stuck at the ramen stand a while and doesn't want you to think she's trying to stand you up."

"Whoa!" Naruto whistled, grinning wildly. "I wouldn't think that of her. She's too nice to do that. But thanks for the message." Then his grin faded. "Oh, I guess that means no date this afternoon."

"Hey, you can always go to the ramen stand and keep her company." Kiba winked. "You might even get lunch out of it. Though, come to think of it, I don't see you over there as often as I used to."

Naruto shrugged and his grin grew wide again. "Good idea! Actually, it'll be fun! I haven't had as much ramen as I'd like lately. Ayame works there with her father. She likes to get away from the stand and go other places."

Kiba shook his head wryly. "You mean you actually give up eating your favorite food at your favorite restaurant …for a girl?? Boy, you must have it bad for her!"

"Uh, yeah! Wanna make something of that?" Naruto said rather defensively.

"Hey, not me!" Kiba groaned, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm. "At least you have a girl to keep you company right now. Mine's always over at Ino's. It's almost as if she's forgotten about me."

"Oops! Sorry about that." Naruto said, rocking back on his heels a bit as he suddenly turned a bit red and made waving motions.

Kiba stared at Naruto's odd behavior, then winced. He looked down at his dog. "Akamaru? Why didn't you warn me?" The nin-dog slouched down and whimpered. Why should he warn Kiba about her? Kiba _liked_ her!

Sakura cleared her throat from behind him. Kiba plastered a smile on his face before turning. "Sakura!"

"Don't you 'Sakura' me!" The pink kunoichi scowled, but couldn't hold the ill temper. Her frown faded into a look of chagrin. "Am I really that bad?"

Kiba groaned as Naruto waved goodbye to both of them, then he reached out and caught her by the hand. "He's off to see his girlfriend."

Sakura looked down at their joined hands. "And you're not, is that it?"

"Oi, Sakura! Stop!" Kiba growled without menace. "I don't mean anything by it. I know Ino needs you right now, it's just …it's just that I miss you and need you around too."

The pink-haired kunoichi blushed and gripped his hand a bit more firmly. "I don't mean to slight you, Kiba. It's just …Ino has been my …well, friend and rival I suppose …for a very long time."

Kiba pulled her into his arm and held her close. "I know, and I'm a selfish jerk."

Sakura smiled up at him. "I like you as a selfish jerk. That means you want me around."

The dog-nin leaned down and kissed her forehead, mindful that they were in public. "So, can I walk you to Ino's?"

Sakura shook her head. "I just left her at the hospital. She's volunteered to take an extra shift." She frowned worriedly. "Ino's working too hard. I think she just wants to take her mind off of everything."

"No letters since that first one from Gaara?" Kiba asked, letting her go to hold her hand.

She shook her head. "No. And she won't let me read it."

"You did sneak a look anyway, what with being over at her house all the time, right?"

Sakura slapped Kiba's shoulder playfully. "You know me too well dog-boy." She admitted. "But there was only a list of plants on it. I don't get it."

"I thought she was going to write him back." Kiba asked.

The pink-haired girl shrugged. "She says she's going to, but ….every time I bring it up she just changes the subject."

"Speaking of changing the subject." Kiba teased. "What are you doing this afternoon?"

"Well…." She smiled coquettishly at him. "I was hoping to find a certain Inuzuka and find out if he can spare some time to take a girl out for a walk."

Akamaru perked up at the word 'walk' and barked his approval. Kiba grinned as well, his eyes showing how much he approved of the idea himself.

o.o.o.o.o

**Yes! I'm back and updating, finally! Long trip. Mentally, emotionally, and physically draining to say the least. But I'm back at the keyboard.**

**This is just part one of Shikamaru's day ….more will follow! Hope you're enjoying it so far! As always, REVIEWS are welcome.**

**Coming up: Gaara's letter and Operation Shino!**


	30. Red Carnations

"You know, after all that hot chocolate, I'm too warm." Shikamaru sighed lazily as he stared up at the low clouds in the winter sky. "Ice cream would be good, only I don't have time to go get any."

"I'll go!"

"No me!"

"He meant that for me! His head was turned toward me! Not you! Cow!"

"Who's the cow? You heifer!"

Shikamaru sighed despondently as he watched the two fangirls squabble over the right to fetch him a treat he had no interest in eating. Finally, they both raced down the street trying to find an ice cream vendor in the middle of winter.

A choked laugh from his left side made him sigh. "They are …"

"Troublesome?" Temari finished the sentence for him. "Oh, I know. That's what I love about this. Having fun?"

"Are you ever going to forgive the Aburame?" Shikamaru cut right to the core of the matter. "Or must I suffer forever?"

"Oh, you must definitely suffer forever." Temari grinned maliciously and stepped out of the shadow of the market stall. Her heavy winter cloak hid her from view, she pushed back the hood as her teal-colored gaze narrowed dangerously on him. "Suffering forever? I like the sound of that. For you that is."

"And Shino?"

Temari sniffed and lifted her nose in the air. "We'll see."

"I'm surprised you're waiting at all." Shikamaru sighed in an offhand manner. "The medics just sent him home."

The blonde kunoichi stiffened.

"Oh, sorry, didn't realize you hadn't ..." Shikamaru let his eyes widen, trying not to overact and spoil the plan. "Forget it."

"No, tell me!" Temari growled, then shook her head. "Wait, forget it. I know you. You're making it all up. That bullshit won't work on me, Shikamaru." She turned to leave all in a huff.

The shadow-nin deliberately stuck his hands in his jacket pockets and looked away. "Caught me. Sorry about that. Can't hurt a guy for trying. I don't like seeing you all miserable like this, just thought I might help." He smiled really huge and gave her an innocent look as he waved goodbye.

Temari stiffened up again as she stared at him, then rushed to catch up, grabbing his arm. "You're lying. You NEVER go out of your way to help, it's too 'troublesome for you'." She bit back an oath as she stared at him. "Shino's really hurt? No! Tell me you're lying."

"I'm lying." Shikamaru smiled his cheesiest smile, unconsciously mimicking Naruto. "My big plan was to make you feel sorry for him and rush over there. But you're too quick for me."

"There is an unknown fever going around, Sakura told me about it a couple weeks ago. She said that they think it spreads through open wounds, or with people just getting over stuff." Temari looked unsure. "And Shino just got over that infection in his leg." Then her eyes hardened sharply on him. "This is all just a trick though, isn't it?"

"It was a lie." Shikamaru confirmed. "It's only a trick. Shino's fine."

"Which is the real lie?" Temari unslung her fan and grabbed him by the collar. "Spill!"

o.o.o.o.o

Nervously, Hinata opened the door herself before Chouji could even reach for the handle. He looked surprised to see her, but if his smile was any indication, he couldn't be happier. Laughing dark eyes looked around the hallway as he entered. "This is the right house right?"

Hinata blushed even darker as she looked down at her toes. She nodded. "No, this is your house."

Chouji chuckled, his voice low and rumbly. "I like seeing you here." When she glanced up quickly he held up his hands. "Not that I expect you to wait on me or anything, I …I just like seeing you, that's all."

Hinata giggled and leaned in for a quick kiss, to show she wasn't angry. "I like seeing you too." She admitted, some of her blush fading.

He pulled back from her kiss, looking around cautiously. Hinata smiled. "Your father and my father are out looking at some farmland. Father was very impressed with your dad's knowledge on soil and he asked for some opinions. We're alone."

If Chouji was surprised by that, he didn't show it. He did however catch her hand in his. "Your dad and my dad? Alone and talking?" He paused, letting the significance of that sink in. "Does that bother you?"

Hinata gulped and shook her head. "Does it you?" She asked, her voice whisper soft.

"No." Chouji sighed happily and leaned in to give her a deeper kiss, then stopped, his eyes going wide. He sniffed the air. "My mother is home."

Hinata giggled and shook her head. "Yes, technically she's our chaperone. She's upstairs with one of your aunts. But she promised me a little privacy."

Chouji shook his head, looking puzzled. "But she's cooking in the kitchen, I can smell lunch."

Hinata shook her head again, her long hair falling forward slightly though held in place by a beautiful set of hair pins.

Chouji grinned and touched them. "You're wearing my gift." He said, more than a little touched.

Hinata caught his hand and led him to the kitchen. "And you're about to eat mine." She smiled. "Your mother has been teaching me how to cook."

Chouji's smile turned brighter than the sun even as he spoke. "You don't have to cook for me. We can hire someone …" There he stalled. How could he bring up hiring someone for THEM, for them as a couple? For them as a _married_ couple. That wasn't the way he wanted to ask her! Besides, it was too soon to talk like that! Oh, he was such an idiot!

Hinata though didn't miss a beat, she turned and flashed him a cheery smile. "No, we can hire someone to clean though! I hate cleaning. But the cooking? That'll be me, except while I'm out on missions of course."

Chouji's mind stalled out. Had he just proposed? Had she just accepted?

o.o.o.o.o

"He's impossible. As a genin he's a menace to my team." The growling voice caught everyone's attention.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened. "He's threatening genin now? That doesn't really sound like Sasuke."

Tsume flashed her fangs, obviously unhappy. "No, no, no. He's too good a ninja, or at least too strong of one. Even with all these 'D' ranked missions, he's held his temper, performed exemplarily, and obeyed my every command without arguement. It's almost disconcerting." She sighed. "He even caught that damned cat all on his own."

Lee's dark brows furrowed in confusion. "It sounds like Sasuke is trying very hard! No less than I would expect from the Uchiha. He is focusing all his youth and strength on regaining his place in the Leaf village."

Gai nodded and sighed. "All too true, and very well spoken! Lee!"

Lee snapped to attention. "Thank you Gai-sensei!"

The Mighty Green Beast of Konoha slumped a bit at hearing that. "I …I am no longer your sensei Lee. You are now the sensei to a lucky new team! Or, you will be once the Academy class graduates and is assigned. A few months and you will be Lee-sensei! You no longer need my guidance!"

Lee started crying with pride. Gai echoed him and also started crying. Neji hung his head and sighed as everyone else at the table ignored the two green-clad overly-emotional shinobi.

"So." Kakashi put his book down reluctantly. "Sasuke is putting the other genin in danger."

Neji looked up. "My youngest cousin is a genin on that team. Hyuuga Hanabi. What kind of danger?"

Tsume shrugged as the nin-dog at her side answered for her. "Sasuke, as the strongest and with the most abilities gets everything done too well and too quickly. It's not allowing the other two genin a chance to build up a real sense of teamwork, or work at problem solving skills, or even advance their own jutsu. With Sasuke on the team, the others aren't advancing as they should. This whole thing is a HUGE mistake."

"Thank you, Kuromaru." Kakashi sighed and nodded at the eye-patch wearing nin-dog. "Tsunade told me that when I felt ready, I could take Sasuke off your hands. I'm sorry …but I don't think I'm ready quite yet. It all still cuts too deeply."

Shikamaru approached Kurenai and the others almost absently, his mind awhirl with plots and plans for both Ino and Temari. He hoped his earlier efforts would pay off, but you always should have a back-up plan. He was even able to tune out the two Suna fangirls so deep were his thoughts.

Kurenei held up one hand to stall the other's conversation as Shikamaru approached. He handed her a letter, made a few greetings before turning to leave.

"Hold up, Shikamaru." Kurenai said gently as she read through her note from the Hokage. She turned her red eyes on the two Suna fangirls. "Ladies, please leave us. We have official Leaf village business to discuss with Nara here."

Harumi and Suzue huffed and puffed ridiculously for a moment, but finally complied as they shot Kurenai hateful glances while leaving. Shikamaru sighed in sudden, abject relief. "Thank you." He said, turning once more to leave.

"Hold up." Kurenai smiled. "It wasn't a lie." She held up Tsunade's note and waved it at him, then waved at the table. "Join us."

Neji stood and scooted over, leaving a space between he and another kunoichi. Shikamaru frowned as he grabbed a chair and swung it into the space provided. He nodded at the beautiful blue-haired woman absently.

"You do know Yugao don't you? Kurenai asked, then waved a hand at everyone else at the table. "I think you pretty much know everyone else. Welcome."

Lee smiled brightly. "Does this mean that Shikamaru is getting a genin team as well? Ah congratulations Shikamaru! I knew you could do it!" Lee pumped his fist in a sign of victory and respect, his teeth gleaming.

"No. Not me." Shikamaru shook his head, happy not to have a genin team.

"Yes, yes he is." Kurenai smiled widely and waved the note at him. "Hokage's orders."

The shadow-nin stopped breathing, closed his eyes and groaned. "Troublesome." He muttered.

Kakashi laughed at him, shaking his head. "Asuma would be proud of you."

Shikamaru stilled, blinked, then nodded as everyone held a moment of silence. After that, he didn't grumble again about taking on a genin team. At least, not out loud.

"You were one of Asuma's students?" Yugao asked, then nodded. "I'm sure you'll do well."

Kurenai held up the note. "That's not the whole message. Tsume? You're stuck with Sasuke for good. Seems Tsunade has been pleased with how he's towing the line under you. And with your exemplary senses, it's easier for you to handle him."

The Inuzuka clan leader groaned as Kakashi flashed a smile through his mask.

"But, your comments to the Hokage about your concerns over the other genin have not been dismissed. They're going to be taken over by Gai, along with another genin. Seems his teammates all made chuunin, but because of an injury he's been behind their progress. Still, Tsunade wants him shaped up and feels Gai would be an excellent choice for this."

"Gai-sensei! A new team for you! And another Hyuuga as well!" Lee gushed happily, then his smile slipped as he noticed that Gai's smile wasn't as bright as it should be. "Gai-sensei?"

"No, Lee, you're right! A new team full of youth ready to blossom under my skillful tutelage will be wonderful!" Gai said all the right words, but …but ….

"Gai?" Tsume poked at him with one long finger. "This isn't like you."

"He just feels left out." Shikamaru muttered under his breath, forgetting for a moment that he was with ninja of very acute hearing.

"Left out of what?" Tsume looked puzzled.

Everyone turned to stare at Shikamaru, who sighed and shrugged. "Lee's head over heels for Matsuri. TenTen left for Suna with Kankuro and Neji is happily dating Hana."

At those words, Neji shot a glance at Tsume who flashed her fangs at him. Kuromaru laughed and yawned. "You're golden kid, don't mind her." The nin-dog spilled the beans. "Making Hana happy? That makes Tsume happy as well, torturing you also makes her happy though."

"Hey!" Tsume growled at her nin-dog. "Don't go giving up my secrets! Torturing the Hyuuga is my only fun these days! Can't go after Sakura, she just smiles at me and tells me that both her mother and Tsunade are better at mental games and I'll have to try harder to catch her out."

Kuromaru only yawned and used his back leg to scratch his ear as everyone else just chuckled.

Gai though, looked thoughtful. "I _am_ nearing thirty, perhaps it IS the need of my youth to find the next level of existence. Perhaps it is time to seek out my own blossom of love and go COURTING!" With each word his volume and excitement rose. He stood up on the final word his fist raised to the heavens, teeth gleaming, and fire lighting his eyes.

"Oh shit." Kurenai sighed, her eyes huge.

Gai's gaze fell on her. Kurenai raised her hands quickly in surrender. "I'm seeing Ibiki." She forestalled him as fast as she could. Gai's fiery gaze flew to Tsume.

The Inuzuka clan leader laughed outright. "I'm ten years older than you." She exaggerated her age a bit, adding a few years for good measure. Gai's grin widened as Tsume drew back, realizing that age meant nothing to the Mighty Green Beast. "She's pretty!" She said quickly pointing at Yugao, throwing the other kunoichi into the fray.

The blue-haired ANBU member sucked in a breath and reached over and wrapped one arm around Shikamaru. "We can't hide anymore, Nara. We're a couple."

"We are?" Shikamaru's eye twitched as he felt her kunai press into his side. "That's right, we are." He amended quickly.

"Shizune is pretty, and the right age range." Kakashi said from over the pages of his book that he'd picked up again. "Single too."

"NOoooo!" Gai pointed an accusatory finger straight at Kakashi. Everyone stilled, ready if a fight broke out.

"You don't like Shizune?" Kakashi said softly, soothingly. "There are others …"

"You will not beat me to the altar of matrimony! I challenge you! I shall be the first of us to reach love's sweetest goal. You shall not have her! I shall go and seek out the lotus blossom of loveliness that is Shizune and I will show you that she is mine!" Gai raced off, a cloud of dust in his wake.

Lee cheered his former sensei on as everyone else just kind of stared at each other.

"Should we warn Shizune?" Kurenai asked softly.

Tsume chuckled. "More fun if we don't."

o.o.o.o.o

"I knew it was a lie." Temari spat out the words as she slammed open Shino's bedroom door. "You're not ill at all."

Shino paused as he sat on his floor, wrapping a gift. "Then why did you come?"

"What did Shikamaru, the ass, promise you?" Temari scowled heavily. "Because if it was for my sympathy for 'poor sick Shino' then you're in for a sad disappointment."

The door behind her slammed and she turned, startled to see so many kikai bugs between her and the exit. Shino looked up at her, his sunglasses no where in evidence. His dark chocolate eyes ate up the sight of her. "Just to get you alone in a room. Neither of us thought for a second you'd fall for a lie like me being sick."

Temari sighed and ran her hands over her face wearily. "So he put just enough of a seed of doubt in me that I'd hurry over and check it out."

"I wasn't sure you'd come, even if I were sick." Shino paused, his voice husky. He looked over her shoulder at the bugs and they started to move, swirl into a pattern.

The blonde caught her breath as they formed into written words. "You love me?" She whispered, then turned cold eyes back on him. "Strange way you have of showing it, breaking up with me."

Shino stood quietly, moving with lithe grace as he pulled out a chair for her. He sat on his bed and stared at her. "I thought ….Temari, before you there was no one. My whole life I've assumed that my father would have to arrange a marriage with a woman's family. And then I'd have to slowly overcome her disgust of bugs."

"Your parents aren't like that." She huffed, plucking at the fabric of her cloak.

"Yes, yes they were. Mother still likes to tell stories about it sometimes."

Temari stilled at the utter sincerity in her voice. She shook her head.

"Really." Shino assured her. "I never …I never expected you. Maybe I didn't trust you. You were too wonderful. So when I realized that I couldn't leave, and made the assumption that you couldn't stay …I just thought it was my fate. And I'd be stuck with a wife that hated bugs." He paused and stared right into her eyes. "I'd be stuck with a wife I hated because she wasn't you."

Temari shook her head again. "Was that a marriage proposal?"

Shino's lips twitched. "Not yet, we've only been dating a month. Then fighting a month. But it is an apology and a sincere hope that you'll forgive me, stay here in Konoha, and perhaps one day turn it into a real marriage proposal."

Temari looked away, trying to gain a foothold in her emotional mountain. Finally she sighed. "If I'd tried to leave this room, would your bugs have attacked me?"

He frowned. "No. But they would have blocked the doors and windows. Not that you couldn't break through a wall or something, but I'd hoped you wouldn't take it that far."

She nodded and looked around the room, suddenly realizing that something was ….odd. "I've never been in your bedroom before." Temari started, then raised an eyebrow at him. "Was it always decorated like this?"

"No." Shino admitted and looked at all the frogs sitting on every available surface. Plush frogs, porcelain frogs, wooden frogs, funny frogs, serious frogs, tiny glass frogs, and huge frog vases. "They're for when I started stalking you."

Startled, she dropped her jaw slightly.

He shrugged. "You were shutting yourself off from me. It would have been a last ditch effort. The plan was for you to find one of these every time you turned around. In your closet, in the refrigerator, on your front doorstep …"

"I get it." She fought her smile, barely succeeding. "So, you'd have turned into stalker-boy?"

"Against my will." He admitted softly. "To get you back in my life, I'd do just about anything." Shino paused and caught her hand in his own. "Even beg."

Temari shook her head in denial. "You're one of the proudest people I know." She whispered. "You'd never beg."

"Try me."

Unable to breathe a moment she shook her head at him. "No." She finally said after a long moment. "I wouldn't do that to you."

Shino cocked his head slightly. "Why not?" He urged her to answer.

"Because …." Her teal eyes melted a bit. "Because I think I love you too."

Their hands squeezed together as they sat there for a long moment silently. Finally, he cleared his throat. "So …am I forgiven?"

Temari grinned and stood. "No." she said, turning away. "No, you're not."

Startled, it took a moment for her answer to register. Her smile didn't match her words. "Temari?" He called after her, his bugs consolidating on the door.

Before reaching the wall of kikai bugs, she stopped and turned. Her eyes catching his and a mischievous smile on her lips. "But you've made a good start."

Shino stood, watching her, his heart racing as he waited for her to finish.

"I promise not to avoid you anymore." She told him, reaching for the door handle, the bugs parted and let her hand through without interference. "Smart man."

"Have dinner with me tonight." Shino stepped forward. "Just the two of us."

She opened his door then smiled as she sensed the quickly retreating footsteps of Shino's mother. "Dinner sounds lovely. Pick me up at six? Bring a frog."

Shino snorted and held out his arms to indicate the huge number of frogs he'd bought while she'd been avoiding him. "Which one?"

"Surprise me." Temari said softly and slipped from the room.

o.o.o.o.o

Hiashi turned to Choza as they walked over the fertile farmland, though it was buried under a winter covering of frost with patches of snow. "It abuts right next to those fields." He pointed in a westward direction. "Yours, I've been told?"

"Indeed." Choza nodded, his eyes alight. "And these lands hold water rights that I'm very envious of, I must admit."

The Hyuuga clan leader nodded with apparent disinterest. His demeanor was a lie, of course. He was very eager for this conversation. "I had thought to have these fields laid in with crops this year, it was fallow last season."

Choza sighed, playing the game. "It would be a waste of prime grazing land." He thought of his own herds of beef. The men he hired to work the cattle would drool over the water rights in these fields.

Hiashi nodded. "Of course, the decision should include Hinata."

"Oh?" The Akimichi clan heir pretended surprise. "How so?"

"It is a part of her dower properties." Hiashi tossed the words out nonchalantly, baiting the hook.

Choza smiled on the inside. Like he needed a baited hook to bite at this opportunity! A match between the Hyuuga and Akimichi? It was just about perfect. But the true selling point? The look on his son's face as he talked about Hinata.

The Akimichi looked around the property. "The man who wins your daughter's heart will be a lucky man indeed."

"Oh?" Hiashi stilled, waiting for it.

"My wife already looks upon her as the daughter she never had." Choza admitted, with the pretense of reluctance. "Still, there are requirements that a clan head must insist upon before even speaking about any such arrangements."

Hiashi smiled and nodded, on the inside though he was grinning brighter than the sun. Here it came. The negotiations to keep Hinata from being curse sealed, and yet to put the marriage seal upon her. Hiashi knew he was going to drive a hard bargain for these concessions, even though they were what he secretly hoped for himself.

Choza turned and smiled at the Hyuuga, but the smile was almost predatory. Hiashi stilled. Perhaps these negotiations would be much more interesting than he'd first thought?

"I hear your daughter does not bear the curse mark of the branch family, despite not being your heir." Choza opened, showing that he knew in which direction Hiashi was thinking.

The Hyuuga smiled tightly. Oh yes. This was going to be fun. The brightness in his eyes matched that in the Akimichi's gaze.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru slipped into the small office and sat with one hip on the desk. He stared at Ino, who after one glance at him had looked back down at her report. Minutes passed with only the sound of her scratching pen. After a quarter of an hour, he finally sighed.

"If I'm boring you, you know the way out." Ino said dully. She waited for him to say something about how troublesome she was. What happened though, shocked her to the core.

"Marry me."

o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi slipped into his apartment with a sigh, then sniffed the air appreciatively. "That smells delicious." He smiled beneath his mask.

"I heard a rumor today."

The copy-nin sighed and slipped up behind the cook, resting his chin on a shoulder. "Gai's in search of a bride?"

"So it's true?" Came the startled response.

Kakashi nodded and tasted the sauce on the proffered wooden spoon. "Tastes as good as it smells. You are a genius." He reached down to give a certain ass a good pat, and to cop a quick feel.

An elbow to his ribs pushed him away. Kakashi grinned.

"Rumor has it Gai challenged you to see who could get Shizune to the altar first?"

Kakashi grinned and pulled his mask off to press a kiss into an exposed neck. "That might have happened."

Iruka turned around, sauce dripping from his spoon, his eyes narrowing.

The copy-nin grinned and winked. "Don't worry, Shizune's safe from me."

o.o.o.o.o

"You must be out of your fucking mind!" Ino stood, fists ready to strike as Shikamaru held up his hands in surrender.

"Just checking." He told her, looking bored.

"Checking for what? How long I'd let you live?" Ino sputtered.

Shikamaru pursed his lips. "No. To see how you really felt about Gaara."

Ino gritted her teeth. "How does that concern you?!"

"You got a letter from him, but you haven't written back. You won't contact him, but you're moping around like your heart is torn in two." He paused. "Everyone's worried about you."

Ino sighed and backed off, wrapping her arms around her like she was suddenly chilled. "I'm not even going to ask how you know about the letter. If you can call it that."

"Do you love him?"

"Yes." She said simply, without flourish.

"Does he love you?"

Ino didn't answer, her eyes showing her misery along with unshed tears.

Shikamaru groaned. "You are so troublesome."

"I know." She whispered, turning away until she felt something heading toward her. Her eyes widened as she dodged the book thrown at her head. "What the hell?" She asked as the book hit the wall behind her and fell with a dull 'thump'.

"All your life you've done this to yourself." Shikamaru moaned. "Now, get over it!"

"What are you jabbering on about?" Ino scowled, starting to get angry again.

"Sasuke had no interest in you, but you chased him for years. I …I won't say I had no interest, because that would be a lie. Still …you chased me, not the other way around. Now. You say that you love Gaara, but you're NOT chasing after him?"

"I do love him!" She shouted, then covered her mouth as she sat down. "I do love him." She whispered, almost to herself this time.

"That much is obvious." Shikamaru sighed. "How do I get myself in the middle of these things?" He took the seat opposite her, his dark eyes boring a hole in her blonde head. "He's the real deal for you, isn't he?"

Ino nodded miserably.

"Sasuke? No, that was a schoolgirl's crush. When he turned you down, which was often, you just kept right on going. Me? Sure, I hurt you. But you got mad then you got even. Gaara though? He's different."

"Why?" She wailed. "Why him?"

"Too deep for me to answer." Shikamaru blew off the question. "The real quandary is what are you going to do about it? You fought for the guys you weren't really in love with, but the real thing you're going to just let go of?"

"I'm scared." She whispered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Real emotions are scarier, sure. But I hear they're worth it."

"What should I do?"

He picked up another book, as if weighing it as a potential weapon. Ino's eyes widened as she drew back. "You keep this up and I'll hit you with this." He threatened.

"What? What did I do?"

"You looked to someone else to tell you what you should do." He slammed the book down on the desk hard, making her 'eep' as she jumped. "You became a kunoichi for your father. You became a medical-nin for your team, hoping to be of more use. You need to start acting selfishly." He yelled at her.

Ino goggled at him, then started giggling. Giggles led into all out laughter and tears. Finally she calmed, her tension gone as she shook her head at him. "I'm the most selfish person you know." She grinned.

Shikamaru smiled. "Yeah? Well start acting like it. This shadow of you that's been moping around? Forget her, bring the real Ino back. You want the creepy red-head, go after him!"

"He's not creepy!" She frowned, fires lighting in her eyes as she leaned forward menacingly.

"That's the spirit." He smiled. "Now. The question is how does Gaara feel about you?"

Ino's fires banked as she sighed, settling back in her seat. "I …I'm not sure."

"What did his letter say?" Shikamaru asked, then winced. "I can't believe I'm having this conversation."

Ino reached into her desk and pulled out two pieces of paper. "What I got was two letters. One from TenTen and one, well it isn't really a letter at all. Gaara never wrote me."

"What's that then?" Shikamaru pointed at what she was holding.

The blonde sniffed, trying not to choke up yet again. "According to TenTen, Gaara's been in a foul mood ever since returning to Suna. He's apparently tried to write several letters, but throws them all away. This one …" She held up a piece of paper that had once been crumpled. "was rescued out of his trash bin and TenTen sneaked it to me."

Shikamaru whistled low with surprise. "Someone risked their life to get that to you."

"Stop saying things like that." Ino huffed a bit. "Gaara's not that bad."

The shadow-nin clamped his jaw shut and refrained from telling her what he'd seen of Gaara during those long ago chuunin exams. Sure the guy had held a demon inside him at the time, still …cold blooded murder was a hard thing to forget. Ino never really met THAT Gaara though, not up close and personal. Thank goodness.

Shikamaru reached over for Gaara's letter. Ino held it tight a moment, but finally relinquished it to him. "Don't make fun."

"Of what?" He shrugged, then scanned the letter. "I don't get it."

"We …Gaara and I …we use the flower language between us." Ino sighed and pulled at her ponytail. "That's what's got me so confused. A lot of those flowers and plants have more than one meaning."

Shikamaru sighed and put the letter down. "This isn't a real letter you know. He's just trying to get his thoughts in order, that's all. You weren't meant to read this."

Ino smiled tentatively. "I know. But look. Cactus? It means endurance. But it can also mean warmth. So is he telling me to endure our separation, that it won't last long? Or that his feelings are 'warm' for me? And is warm good or bad? Does he only feel luke-warm for me? Or does our time together fill him with warmth? I can't respond to this letter! I can't read it!" She wailed at the end. "I don't know what he's trying to say!"

The shadow-nin sighed and wished he were anywhere else but here. "You can't respond to this letter anyway. If you do he'll know someone stole from his trash bin and heads will roll."

"Oh!" Ino's eyes widened as she hadn't considered that point. "I don't want to get TenTen in trouble."

"Kankuro too, probably." Shikamaru sighed. "I doubt TenTen stole this from Gaara's office. Now. What does 'azalea' mean?"

"Take care of yourself for me." Ino shrugged. "But it could also mean 'fragile passion'. And it's also the Chinese symbol of womanhood, but I don't think Gaara meant that one. Do you?"

"Stop asking me, I don't know him like you do." Shikamaru muttered. "Thank goodness. Ewww!"

"Idiot." Ino moaned and sighed. "He lists amaryllis too. That could mean 'pride' or 'timidity'. Does that mean he wants to break up and he doesn't want to hurt my feelings? Or that I'm not good enough to be with the Kazekage of Suna?"

Shikamaru moaned and rubbed his temples. "That makes no sense, Ino."

"I know! How could he do this to me!"

"I meant that _you're_ not making sense! How does 'timidity' translate into a break-up?" He snapped, but she was already on a roll and ignored his outburst completely.

"And bay leaf! What's up with that?!" Ino groaned. "It has only one meaning, strength! But why strength? He didn't mention anything about roses! Roses mean love, that I would have understood! No, he has to write down basil. Basil _could_ mean love, but more commonly means best wishes! What's up with 'best wishes'?? That's a goodbye speech if I ever heard it!"

"You've been studying up on the flower language thing, haven't you?" Shikamaru sighed, raising his voice to be heard over her tirade. "You're probably reading too much into this." He stopped, then his own eyes went wide.

"What?" She asked breathlessly.

"You already have your answer. He adores you."

Ino stilled and shook her head. "How can you know that?" She whispered.

Shikamaru put the letter down on the desk. "Write him a letter. Tell him how you feel and don't worry about a thing. He loves you."

Ino stood, glaring at him. "You don't know that! You're just saying that to make me feel better. What if he doesn't care?!"

"I guarantee you that no man, much less Gaara of the Sand …the ultimate weapon of Suna …their fucking Kazekage …would EVER write in the language of _**flowers**_ unless he was in love. And he's not just writing these things, HE'S STUDYING THEM!" Shikamaru snarled.

"Oh!" Ino sat down sharply, stunned as she'd never thought it that far through. Her and Gaara's little code …she'd just taken it for granted.

"He lives in a desert! I'll bet you ten million yen that he cared nothing for flowers before you came along!" Shikamaru opened the door as his tone gentled. "Run with it Ino. He's all about you. And from your misery, you're all about him too. You never pined over me like this, much less Sasuke."

"Jealous?" She teased him, smiling tearfully. "I do love you, you know."

"As a friend I hope." He grinned, already knowing the answer. "Because I don't want Gaara hunting me down and scattering my ashes across his desert."

"Thank you." She whispered.

"Are we good now?" He asked quietly.

Ino nodded. "I can tell the other girls to have you taken off the 'undateable' list, if you want." She offered with a soft look.

Shikamaru shuddered. "Bite your tongue, woman! This is the most peaceful time I've ever had …well, except for the damned Suna fangirls."

Ino laughed, as he'd intended and he said goodbye, leaving her to her own thoughts. She pulled the letter back to her, reading. "Bittersweet. That means 'truth'. Okay Gaara, here's the truth. I love you and you'd better love me back because I'm not backing down this time."

She pulled out a sheet of paper and sighed, then with a gleam in her eyes, wrote him a letter.

_**Dear Gaara,**_

_**Red Carnations. And if you're wondering about the meaning that I've chosen, I'll give you a hint. I don't mean 'admiration'. And although that's true too, that's not what I'm wanting to say right now. Go with the other meaning.**_

_**Ino**_

o.o.o.o.o

**SUNA: Three days later**

The letter had arrived in the late afternoon, but Gaara hadn't opened it yet. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what it said.

But while he was many things, a coward wasn't one of them. He flipped the letter opener and slit the missive open in one clean slice. His fingers trembled a bit and he frowned at them. Was this nervousness?

Gaara sighed and took a deep breath, unfolding the single handwritten sheet. It wasn't very long, he thought with disappointment. She talked a lot, so he'd been hoping for a more chatty letter. He missed hearing her voice.

That disappointment vanished in an instant as he read her letter. Red carnations? He smiled, his heart slowing a bit as he nodded to himself. Seems he'd made a good decision after all. Thinking of which, he swept out of his office toward the greenhouse.

His temper had been so ill lately, that no one stopped him on his way across Suna. He smiled to himself. Red carnations. She'd actually written that. It didn't mean 'love' liked he'd hoped. But no, red carnations was better than that!

"Kazekage-domo!" The greenhouse attendants snapped to attention, having already run afoul of his ill temper earlier in the week. "Sir, I'm sorry to report that they haven't bloomed yet." The man almost wept that he didn't have better news.

"But they're growing well?" Gaara asked with a stoic mask in place.

"Yes sir! They're growing very well, though none of the species you specified have bloomed yet. They will soon though!"

Gaara nodded. "Thank you." He said, turning to leave the greenhouse. The attendants all almost slumped where they stood, grateful that their Kazekage seemed to be in a MUCH better mood today.

"Red carnations." Gaara sighed happily to himself, more than a little embarrassed that he'd doubted her feelings for him. Tsunade had made a good point. Technically Ino had been on the rebound, still …she'd written him. _Red carnations_. He smiled at Baki as he passed the man on the way back to his residence.

The older shinobi stopped, turned, and stared after him. He'd known a letter had been delivered to Gaara today. But he'd not known the contents. But judging from that smile ….Baki whistled as he finally relaxed. She'd apparently written something good. He was relieved that she'd apparently not written about the 'letter' she'd gotten from Gaara. He hadn't wanted to have to explain his actions to his Kazekage.

Gaara headed straight for his bedside table, picking up the book on flower languages. He flipped to the appropriate page and smiled. He'd not remembered wrong.

Sure, red carnations did mean 'admiration', that was true. But it was the other meaning that made him smile full out where no one could see him.

**Red Carnations: "My heart aches for you"**

He shut the book and put it back on the table. Yeah, that was the best letter he'd ever read. And it wasn't too short after all.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well, I got done with this chapter much sooner than I'd anticipated. I toyed with the idea of waiting to post it, but I just can't bring myself to do that. LOL!**

**Well? What do you think? REVIEWS are always welcome!**


	31. Soon

Ino heard the bell of the shop door tinkle merrily and looked up with a bright smile on her face. The smile faded immediately upon recognition and she slumped sullenly against the countertop.

Chouji stopped, looked behind him then back toward Ino. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked, eyeing her cautiously.

The blonde sighed and shook her head. "Sorry, no it's not you. I was hoping for a letter, that's all." She absently trailed one finger over the countertop, tracing nonexistant lines on the smooth surface.

"Oh." The Akimichi nodded slowly, wincing just slightly. "Sorry, I'm not the delivery guy. I'm just here to buy some flowers." He paused, not wanting to stick his foot in his mouth. "Where's your mom?"

Ino straitened and fluffed her hair slightly. "What? You don't trust my flower sense?"

"No, it's …." Chouji stalled. "I've been dealing with your mom, that's all."

Laughter from one side of the shop startled Chouji. He looked around, then relaxed as he recognized the other shopper. "Oh! Kiba, I didn't see you behind the flower stands over there."

"Its okay, Chouji, you can come in. The coast is clear. Ino's actually in a GOOD mood for a change." The Inuzuka chuckled, then ducked the roll of tape Ino chucked at his head, even as she grinned at him.

"That's right Chouji!" Ino turned her smile on him and gave him a soft wink. "Sorry if I've been a grouch lately."

"A grouch?" Chouji repeated her words with a hint of surprise. "I wouldn't have called you a grouch."

Kiba grinned, and got ready just in case Ino started throwing rougher things than the tape. Like the trimming scissors she was currently holding. "No, YOU wouldn't call her a grouch because you're too nice a guy, Chouji. And I wouldn't call her a grouch."

"Thank you." Ino preened a tiny bit.

"I'd have called her a much worse name than that. Grouch just doesn't cover it." Kiba grinned and kept a wary eye out for flying scissors or their ilk.

Ino gasped, then burst out into a chuckle. "See now, if that didn't send me flying off the handle …then you know you're safe to come in. Still, Kiba, I WILL get you back for those comments."

"I have no doubt." Kiba smiled cheekily at her, then whistled as he kept looking around the flowers in the various stands.

Chouji weighed his options carefully. He didn't really want to deal with Ino, in case she thought him cheesy for doing this. But he didn't want to go elsewhere, because that would hurt his teammate's feelings. And she was, after all, a friend.

"Well?" Ino prompted him gently. "I'm guessing you want some flowers for Hinata?"

Kiba snorted derisively. "Like that's a big stretch to guess." He mocked. "Safe bet, not even Tsunade could mess that wager up."

"Shut it, you!" Ino snapped at him, then turned back to Chouji with a smile. "I like that you and Hinata seem so happy together."

Chouji's smile grew in warmth and Ino blinked at what she saw in her friend's face. She pulled up and shook her head. "Happy is too pale a word I see." She smiled at him. "I'm glad, Chouji. I really am."

"I want something delicate, sweet, and yet simple and uncomplicated." Chouji told her.

"What's the occasion?" Ino asked as she mentally ran through the stock of flowers currently available in the shop. Being winter, the greenhouse blooms were more costly, but she didn't want to send her friend away with the wrong bouquet.

The bigger shinobi blushed just slightly, his eyes sliding toward Kiba a bit. Ino nodded in understanding and slid a piece of paper toward him. "Write it down."

Kiba coughed. "Like I care." He said, walking over to a display of roses.

Chouji though, was grateful as he wrote something down and slid it back to Ino. She picked it up, her eyebrows winging up as she read the message. _**'No occasion'.**_

Ino nodded and pursed her lips. She walked over to a cold display and opened the door, bringing out some brilliant pink asters. She paired them with some baby's breath and some light bluish forget-me-nots. Then Ino carefully trimmed them into a beautiful arrangement, wrapped them with a ribbon and paper, carefully putting them in a long box.

Chouji whistled as he saw the final product. He didn't even wince as he reached for his wallet. Ino held one hand up, though, and stopped him cold.

"My present to you." She smiled longingly, her hands gentle on the flower box. While neither Chouji nor Hinata might know, the flowers she'd chosen for them meant '_love, daintiness, everlasting love, and true love_'. "No charge."

"For what?" Chouji asked, stunned. Those flowers looked expensive to him. "You shouldn't."

Ino shrugged lightly. "For being my friend as well as Shikamaru's when we broke up. For putting up with my bad tempers. And just because you're an all-around nice guy."

Chouji nodded, giving her a sweet smile. "Thank you, Ino."

Ino's smile matched his. "And remember us when it comes time for the wedding flowers." She needled him.

The Akimichi's face went red and he looked away, then he met her eyes and nodded. "Like we'd go anywhere else. You know our fathers are friends. Just like we are." He didn't even bother to deny that there _would_ be a wedding. At least he sincerely hoped so!

Kiba watched Chouji leave, his face a reflection of his amusement. "Wow. Did you see his face?" The dog-nin clucked his tongue. "He's sure a goner."

"And you're not?" Ino crossed her arms and gave him a good long stare.

The Inuzuka laughed her off and grabbed some pink roses.

Ino stiffened as she eyed the blossoms.

"What?" Kiba asked, looking at the roses. "They're pretty."

The blonde kunoichi sighed heavily. "Are you trying to match her hair, or to give her a gift to tell her how you feel?"

Kiba coughed and mockingly gagged, as he acted affronted. "These aren't for Sakura! They're for a different girl!"

Ino glared at him, holding her breath and her temper. Barely. "Oh?"

The Inuzuka laughed at her. "You should see your face, Ino!" He made a face, imitating her angry look. "No, no …seriously. These aren't for Sakura. They're for her mother."

The blonde let out her breath and shook her head in disgust as he roared with laughter, pointing at her. She let him wind down then chucked the trimming scissors at his head. He dodged easily as they thunked into the floor by his foot.

Kiba was still grinning from ear to ear as he approached the counter. Sighing, Ino gave up and wrapped the flowers up prettily for him. She named a price and he winced. She grinned at him.

"Come on, Ino. I'm just as nice a guy as Chouji." Kiba whined.

Ino shook her head and smiled darkly at him. "No you're not." She smirked. "Besides, remember when I said I'd get you back? This is just part one. Now pay up."

o.o.o.o.o

Temari turned first one way, then the other. "Well?" She asked in her usual straight forward manner. "Does this send the wrong message?"

Hinata gulped and looked away. "I …I don't know about the message." She admitted. "But it needs more fabric."

Dismissing that comment with a light sneer, Temari turned back to the triple mirror. "I want it to say something like, _look what you're missing_."

"Well …it shows a lot." The purple-haired Hyuuga admitted reluctantly, blushing a bit as she did so. "But if you're wearing it on a date, then he's not missing anything." She said in a half-questioning manner. Clearly not understanding the purpose of the thigh baring dress.

"Oh don't worry, I'll be wearing leggings with it." Temari said blithely.

"Oh!" Hinata nodded. "Of course! How silly of me."

Temari grinned and dangled some netting that most kunoichi were familiar with. "These."

Hinata's pale-lavender gaze widened. "But …you can see right through those!"

The Sand kunoichi laughed heartily. "You betcha they can be seen through! Shino will eat his heart out over what he's missing."

Long purple hair swung lightly as Hinata shook her head. "But if he's on the date with you, he's not missing anything."

Temari turned to the other girl in surprise. "Look, I know you're innocent, but surely …" She paused and gave her head a shake. "Nevermind."

Hinata stiffened. "You're talking about …." She gulped.

"Yep." Temari grinned. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"But …but …it is against the rules. Don't you remember?" Hinata stammered, horribly embarrassed by the subject matter.

Temari's grin faded as she looked at the pale-eyed girl. "Look, rules are meant to be broken. Except when they're not. No one swore an oath or anything." She shrugged. "I've not broken that particular rule yet though."

"Oh." Hinata breathed out slowly, then eyed the dress thoughtfully. "So, you want to break the rules with Shino?"

The Sand kunoichi chewed her lip a moment then shrugged. "Yeah, I want to. But I'm not going to, not yet anyway. Besides, we only have about three more weeks before the three month thing is done with. After that, no more rules."

"But …but …If you're not going to ….that …with him, why the dress?" Hinata asked, both dying to know and not really wanting to hear the answer. Shino was almost like the brother she never had. There were just some things she didn't want to think about.

Temari spun around, showing off long lithe legs that went on forever. She smiled evilly into the mirror. "To taunt him."

"But why?" Hinata asked, non-plussed.

The blonde reached into her pouch and pulled something out, tossing it to the Hyuuga kunoichi. Hinata caught it easily, turning the object over and over in her hand. "What an adorable frog." She smiled.

"Adorable nothing." Temari frowned. "I found that little monster in my sugar bowl this morning."

Hinata looked up, startled.

Temari sighed and ran her fingers over the satin wrapped belt that helped show off her lithe figure. "We went to dinner the other night, after I told him that he could start courting me again."

"But …that's what you wanted." Hinata pointed out breathlessly. "You told me so yourself."

"You don't play these kinds of games well do you?" Temari sighed, shaking her head.

Hinata bit her lip and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. You're doing fine with Chouji without any of this crap." Temari shrugged. "But at dinner, Shino was fine. He was great. Until he got up to excuse himself for a few moments. While he was gone, this merchant's son tried to talk to me. He asked me for directions to the bathroom, if you can believe that line." She sneered with derision.

"Perhaps he was just new to the area and didn't know the restaurant …" Hinata began, then stalled out as she caught sight of Temari's incredulous face.

"Little girl, I've GOT to take you out for a night on the town." Temari told her gently.

Hinata brightened up and smiled shyly. "Chouji and I would love to go out with …."

Temari held up one hand to stop the other girl. "We'll get back to that thought, since you're obviously missing the point of a girls night out. In the meantime, I was handling the drunk just fine. He was leaving without my having to kick his bones out the door when Shino came back."

Pale-lavender eyes widened. "He didn't attack a civilian with the kikai, did he?"

The blonde kunoichi snorted. "Hardly. But he did get all huffy and prickly. Then I might have said something smart, and he might have said something snide. Then I might have called into question his vaunted 'control'."

Hinata sucked in a shocked breath.

"I know, I know." Temari muttered. "I didn't even really mean it. But when he gets all prickly and uptight I just …I just feel the need to poke at him. I know he can be a great guy underneath all that, and I hate it when he turns priggish on me."

"So then what?"

The blonde shrugged and held out her hand for the small wooden frog. "I might have said something stupid like he was going to have to resort to stalking after all, because I was mad at him again. But that stalking would do him no good, because my defenses where up now."

Hinata's eyes grew big as saucers. "You challenged Shino?"

"I might have." Temari admitted and held up the small frog carving. "And this is the result. I found him under my covers when I went to bed the next night. How he got it into my apartment, I'll never know. So I threw it at his head the next day. This morning? I found this little froggie in my sugar bowl!"

A giggle actually escaped Hinata.

"It's not funny!" Snapped Temari, her feelings raw on the subject.

Hinata giggled again. "It is kinda funny." She said in a small voice. "But instead of throwing it his head, why don't you put it somewhere he doesn't expect? Hide it."

Temari stilled and stared at the younger kunoichi. She opened her mouth, shut it, then swallowed. "I can't believe you thought of that before me." She whispered, her hand tightening on the small carved frog smiling up at her. "Stalk him back! It's perfect!"

Drawing up, Hinata protested. "I just meant put it away so that he can't hide it anywhere else. Stop him from stalking you with it."

"Wouldn't work, he's got dozens of these things." Temari said, her mind racing already. She grinned evilly. "Oh yes, this will be FUN!" She vowed to the silent Hinata as she tossed the frog up in the air and caught it with one hand, a gleeful smile on her face.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino sighed, watching the clock. The mail delivery and come and gone. No letter from Gaara. Still, it was a bit soon. To get a letter back from him today, he would have had to have gotten hers and sent off a letter that same day.

The blonde hung her head and tried not to feel disappointed. After all, Gaara was the Kazekage. He had a LOT of business to attend to at his office. Important business. Personal matters were probably the last thing he attended to, so he might not have even gotten her letter until the next day or so. Right?

The bell over the door tinkled merrily at her, almost mocking her blue mood. Ino sighed and looked up. Her eyes widened.

"Shizune?" She called, wondering why the Hokage's assistant was pulling down the shade on the door. "It's not time to close up shop yet. We keep that blind open while we're in business."

"Shhh!" Hissed Shizune.

Ino's jaw dropped. "You're hiding from Gai!" She whispered loudly. "I thought that was just a rumor!"

"Shhhh!" Shizune waved at her desperately, peeking around the drawn shade on the door. "Please, be quiet!"

"Did you really throw him out the Hokage's office window?" Ino begged to know, her eyes sparkling with merriment.

Shizune shot her a glare, then gave in. "The window was already open, it's not like I broke the panes or anything. She said, remembering how she'd shoved him away when Gai had wrapped his arms around her. She'd been startled and had pushed out of instinct. Just bad luck that Gai had been standing so close to the open window. "We weren't in the tower, we were still on the first floor."

Shizune dropped the edge of the shade. "He's gone."

Ino grinned mischievously. "I could call him back." She mock threatened.

"If you do I won't give you your letter." Shizune used a mocking tone of her own.

The blonde went still as a statue in a garden.

Shizune frowned. "Breathe, Ino. You still need to breathe."

"What letter?" Ino gasped, her voice suddenly hoarse.

"This one." The Hokage's assistant held up the thin envelope, then pulled it out of Ino's desperate grab. "Ah, ah …." Finally she relented and handed the girl the letter.

Ino flicked at the open flap with her finger and then looked up in accusation.

Shizune flashed her hands up in surrender. "Not me. Just remember it IS correspondence from a foreign leader."

"Tsunade?" Ino hissed.

"No." Shizune shook her head firmly, her face open and honest. "Tsunade gave it too the head of ANBU for his eyes only. He was to tell her if there was anything inside that pertained to anything outside of …well, your relationship. No one else has seen it."

"Oh, like he won't tell her what was inside." Ino said bitterly, hoping Gaara hadn't written anything too embarrassing. Or had broken up with her. THAT would be so horrible, to have some unknown man somewhere know that she wasn't good enough for the Suna Kazekage.

Shizune chuckled. "First, she made him promise not to tell her anything unless it pertained to the security of the village. He swore he wouldn't. Then afterward, when she threatened him if he DIDN'T tell her what was in the letter, he refused."

"She doesn't want us to be together." Ino whispered.

The Hokage's assistant rolled her eyes. "Ino, this isn't about trying to make you miserable or breaking you up as a couple. Tsunade really has only your best interest at heart. She didn't want you running off to Suna only to discover your heart wasn't really there. Then she'd have to deal with a bitter and disappointed Gaara when negotiating with Suna."

Surprised, it took a moment for Ino to fully register what Shizune was saying. When she did, she could hardly believe it. "You were worried that _I'd dump him_?" All this time she'd been worried that he might lose interest in her, but the Hokage was worried that she'd dump him?? Ino couldn't have been more shocked.

Shizune nodded slowly.

"You weren't worried that he'd dump me?" She asked breathlessly.

Shizune shook her head slowly. "He's a strong shinobi, a powerful weapon, and capable of a great many things. Still, he's young and he's never been smitten before, not according to our sources. You have the power to hurt him like no other in the world."

Ino's world spun more than a little, hearing that. She'd been so wrapped up in how she'd feel if Gaara didn't want her, that she'd not considered how he'd feel if she dumped him. "I'm so selfish." She mourned.

The older kunoichi looked at her a moment, then smiled gently. "Why? Because it never occurred to you that he could get hurt too?"

Ino nodded solemnly.

Shizune nodded back at her. "That's why Tsunade wanted you to wait here in Konoha. To sort out these thoughts and feelings."

Ino finally got it. Really, really got why her sensei and mentor had done as she had. "She didn't step in with the other couples because they were dealing with people within their own village. No pesky international treaties and such. If they break up, it's messy. But if Gaara and I rush into something that falls apart at the first hard blow, then it's messier on a bigger scale."

"Huge scale." Shizune frowned. "It's just not relations between Suna and Konoha. It's treaties with other nations that are BASED on our current alliances. It is trade agreements that cross borders patrolled jointly. If friction is noted, even personal friction, between Sand and Leaf …there are factions out there ready and willing to exploit those difficulties."

"TenTen and Kankuro?" Ino asked, though she was pretty sure she knew the answer already.

"He's not the Kazekage and she's not got a family name as old as yours." Shizune told her bluntly. "If they fall apart, it won't be seen as a weakness in the alliance. It's stupid. Even if you do break up with Gaara, it doesn't make either village weak. But it's the _**perception**_ of weakness that is often the most exploited, not the reality."

"Politics make my head hurt." Ino said roughly.

"You've been dating a Kazekage." Shizune told her without a drop of sympathy. "If you can't handle the politics of it all, it's better to know now rather than later."

Ino nodded. "That's why you're delivering my letter, right? To see my reaction?"

Shizune didn't even bother to apologize as she nodded.

The blonde kunoichi held her breath, but couldn't seem to think of a way to read her letter in private. Finally, she slid the thin piece of paper out of the envelope.

_**Dear Ino,**_

_**I like red carnations very much. Wait for me.**_

_**Gaara**_

_**p.s. Read this letter outside**_

Ino smiled, touching the words gently with one fingertip.

Shizune saw her reaction and grunted with approval. "I take it there's no crack between Suna and Leaf?"

Ino shook her head negatively, though she couldn't quit smiling. She re-read the post script and then looked around the flower shop. Frowning, she headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" The other woman asked, following as Ino opened the front door and slipped outside.

Once out of the flower shop, the aroma of many different varieties of flowers dissipated. Ino frowned as she re-read the letter in the natural light. She held up the paper, but could see no watermark. She turned the single hand-written sheet over and over, but saw no change in the words. Just what had Gaara meant by reading the letter outside?

_**Wait for me.**_

Ino smiled at those simple words. They were so short and to the point, and they meant the world to her. She raised the letter to her lips and kissed it impulsively. When she did, she caught the faint aroma of something …something …floral?

Sniffing, she opened the now empty envelope and took a deep breath. As the answer hit her, she swayed. Gaara would have known his letter would be read. And he didn't trust that ANBU wouldn't break their flower 'code'.

"You sneaky red-head." She chuckled to herself.

Shizune watched, puzzled. "What is it?"

Ino didn't answer, just shrugged and smiled as she headed back into the shop. She would hide her letter here, in the middle of all these flowers. That way, no one else would ever know that there'd been a scent of roses on her letter.

And roses, in the language of flowers, stood for many things. Many, many things as there were dozens of types of roses all with their own meaning. And all those meanings were wonderful. But if she had to choose a meaning? What if she believed that he meant a single rose in full bloom with his hidden message? Yes. Ino smiled secretively. She was going with _that_ meaning. _**'I love you'**_.

o.o.o.o.o

Shino finished his training session in the forest and was heading back home when he saw the person standing by the side of the road, right beside the bathhouses. Right on time. Shino grunted, when it mattered to him it appeared Shikamaru wasn't as lazy as he appeared. This plan should work perfectly.

He looked again as he slid into hiding. The shadow-nin looked utterly bored. The two girls on either side of him where chatting like there was no tomorrow. Shikamaru slid his eyes toward Shino's hiding place.

There was no other signal. But then, none was needed. Shikamaru had done the favors requested of him, now he wanted Shino's help in return.

The bug-nin nodded even though he couldn't be seen. Luckily, neither of the two kunoichi had noticed him. They were too involved in their little spat over which way Shikamaru liked his eel cooked the most. Grilled or stewed.

The Nara heir hid his disdain under a veneer of boredom. Like he cared one way or the other about eel or how it was cooked. He liked it best when he didn't have to cook it at all, and whoever served it too him didn't nag him while he ate.

A faint buzzing noise tickled Shikamaru's senses and he fought not to smile in relief. Soon. Soon these two twits would be history! The buzzing grew louder as Shikamaru's anticipation grew.

o.o.o.o.o

Shizune headed back toward the Hokage tower with a sense of relief. The letter from Suna hadn't been bad news to Ino. Which was GOOD news for she and Tsunade. Instead of falling apart, this distance between Gaara and Ino had proven that this might not be some schoolgirl crush after all.

"SHIZUNE!" The voice bounded over the entire area as a green blur flashed around a corner and skidded to a stop right in front of her.

The kunoichi backed up, but Gai only followed her. He was in his 'manly man' pose with his gleaming white teeth and bulging muscles.

"Ah, the prettiest lotus blossom in all the tree of life!" Gai smiled widely. "You are not so easy to locate at times. But then, nothing so worthy as you should be found just anywhere."

Shizune's eyes started to twitch as she looked up at him. "Gai?"

"Yes, lovely flower of the mighty Leaf village?" The shinobi threw his arms out wide. "Whatever you ask of me, it shall be done ten times over! No, a hundred times over!"

"Just once would be enough." Shizune muttered.

Gai smiled so brightly she had to hold up one hand to cut down on the glare. "What would you have of me, oh beauteous one? Future bride and mother of my children?"

"A challenge." She said in desperation, knowing that logic wouldn't work. She'd tried that already. She just needed a way to shut him up. Or at least, minimize the words ...oh! Would that even work?

Gai snapped to attention so quickly that if she'd blinked, she'd have missed it. "A challenge to win your love? I accept! I, the Mighty Green Beast of Konoha, do give you my pledge that whatever you ask of me …"

"Shut up." She snarled, her mind still racing on her hastily conceived plan.

He blinked, his mouth still open.

"I mean it." Shizune narrowed her eyes on him. "Now. The challenge is this. Ten words or less. Every time you see me, you can only say ten words or less. If you can't win me on that, then you are not worthy." She made it up as she went along.

Gai opened his mouth and groaned, then took a deep steadying breath. He nodded. "Since you ask, I will abide!"

Mentally they both counted his words. "Six." She told him. "You only have four more. And you can't come looking for me for another hour at least."

Gai's mind raced, she could almost see the gears spinning behind his eyes as he held up both hands for her to wait. Finally, he nodded. "See you later."

Shizune nodded and smiled, stepping aside for him to leave.

He shook his head at her, holding up nine fingers.

She closed her eyes, took a breath then nodded. He was right. He still had one word left. She couldn't begrudge him the one word. Not when she knew that keeping to ten words or less had to be killing him down deep inside. Still, Shizune couldn't relent. He'd been chasing her around for a few days now already and it was driving her crazy!

When Tsunade wasn't laughing at her, she was complaining about how much more work it was on _her_ when Shizune was too busy hiding from Gai to do her job properly.

Gai leaned in, placing one hand on each side of her face. He smiled as she eyed him nervously. He cupped her face gently, then let go to trace one long finger down her nose to her lips. He lightly traced her lips. "Soon." He told her, then grinned and was gone in a flash.

Shizune stood there, unmoving. Her eyes were huge. Finally, she reached up to touch her own lips. Was it her imagination, or had her blood actually just heated up?

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed! As always, REVIEWS are deeply appreciated! **


	32. Changes in the Tide

Hinata and Temari hurried into the apartment that the Sand kunoichi usally made use of while in Konoha. The icy wind followed them inside before they could slam the door shut behind them. Hinata saw Temari shiver as she put the shopping bags down on the futon. She pushed back her heavy winter cloak with a small shiver of her own. "It's getting a lot colder this afternoon." She said with sympathy, sure the other girl must be missing her home by now. "It'll be even colder tonight." She said rather pointedly.

Temari flashed a wicked grin even as she turned up the heat a bit in the apartment. "Doesn't matter, I'm still wearing my new dress out with Shino tonight. We'll be inside mostly anyway."

Hinata started pulling out items from the shopping bags until she found the dress in question. "I do like the color." She said slowly, petting the soft knit material dyed a becoming purple. It really was a beautiful dress, even if it didn't suit her tastes.

The Sand kunoichi laughed and took the dress from the other girl, holding it in front of her. "I'm going to like the way Shino looks at me in it."

The Hyuuga wasn't so innocent that she didn't understand what Temari meant by that. That Shino could 'look' but not 'touch'. "It's not really fair to him."

Temari's eyes twinkled with merriment. "He's stalking me, just to prove that he can. Remember? How I found little froggy in my sugar bowl this morning?"

"But …but you're planning on stalking him back. And you said that you basically challenged him, telling him that he wasn't good enough to catch you off guard." Hinata said softly, reaching out to tweak the line of the short skirt. "And I thought …well, you seem to ….do you love him?"

Sighing, Temari put the dress down and nodded. "Yes. And maybe you're right. I do tend to overreact to challenges, comes with having brothers I guess. Well, Kankuro really. Gaara didn't act like a brother until later." Temari shivered again and rubbed her arms briskly after divesting herself of her heavy winter cloak. "I did ignore him completely for a while, maybe I should give bug-boy a break after all."

Hinata watched the foreign girl with some concern. "You're not used to our winters." She commented. "How about I make us some hot tea?"

Temari nodded, pleased with the idea of something hot right now. They both headed toward the kitchen. "It gets cold in the desert, but we don't have the ice and snow you do here." She opened the refrigerator and leaned in. "How about a small omelet since we missed lunch earlier?"

"I'll make it!" Hinata smiled brightly as she volunteered to cook, taking the carton of eggs Temari handed her along with some cheese. "I've been practicing for …well."

"Chouji?" Temari chuckled. "Oh go right ahead, I'd rather eat someone elses cooking any day of the week. I _can_ cook though, but I'm not great at it or anything. Just ask Kankuro, he's a better cook than I will ever be."

"Really?" Hinata looked over her shoulder in disbelief as she thought of the sometimes rough acting shinobi. "Kankuro?"

Temari laughed outright and shook her head. "You should see him in the kitchen! Puppeteers? You wouldn't believe it. He's got spoons stirring and pancakes flipping and knives chopping all at the same time. Puppet ninja are _trained_ in the kitchen actually, it's one of their early challenges that weed out the ones who don't have the talent. It's such good practice at keeping track of what each chakra string is doing, all working on separate tasks. They have to master culinary skills before anyone will even let them practice on actual puppets. Puppets are wooden usually, especially the training ones and wood is a precious commodity in the desert. Not everyone gets that far. It really is a good training exercise, and it was great for me because I didn't have to cook at home. Kankuro did it all." She smiled at the fond memories. "I think I actually miss that idiot brother of mine."

"Oh!" Hinata exclaimed as she opened the egg carton and looked inside, shutting it again quickly.

The blonde chuckled. "When he was a lot younger it was fun to watch him practice. He'd have his tongue caught between his teeth as he concentrated. He was so cute. Now he's an absolute whiz in the kitchen."

Hinata turned around, her eyes huge.

"What's wrong?" Temari asked, her laughter fading into a smile. "Drop an eggshell into the mixture?"

"N …nothing!" Hinata hurried toward the trash bin. "Maybe we should go out for something to eat instead though."

Temari yawned and turned away, "Sure, that sounds good too." Then she spun and grabbed the egg carton from the other kunoichi with a 'whoop' of victory. "Let's see what you did to mess up a simple egg omelet…." She stalled out, staring as she gasped.

Hinata held her breath.

Temari looked up at her with fire lighting her eyes. "So, I was overreacting huh? Maybe I should give Shino a break?" She held up the carton with a feral grin. "THIS MEANS WAR!"

Hinata bit her bottom lip as she looked at the egg carton. There were no eggs in it at all. Instead, in each compartment sat a fat, laughing glass frog roughly the size of eggs.

o.o.o.o.o

Yugao stretched lazily as she exited the woman's hot spring bath house. A movement on the street had her stopping though, watching. Oh, it was just Nara Shikamaru and the two fangirls from Suna. The blue-haired kunoichi chuckled silently to herself as she faded into the shadows. Poor guy.

Suddenly she stopped and turned back toward the trio, what was that buzzing sound she was hearing?

o.o.o.o.o

"Shika-kun! Tell Harumi that you DO like grilled eel better than stewed!" Suzue whined.

"No! Shika-kun! Tell Suzue she's a big fat cow!" Harumi snapped. "And that you prefer your eel in a stewed dish!"

Shikamaru kept silent and waited, although he acted his usual bored self. He listened intently as Shino's destruction beetles started buzzing louder and louder. The shadow-nin could barely contain his impatience as he waited for the inevitable reaction. A slight movement over by the women's bath house made him pause however. His eyes sharpened as he caught sight of a figure watching them.

Carefully he balanced how this extra person might change the paradigm of his plan. Reluctantly, Shikamaru turned away and hoped that this person wouldn't interfere. In his mind he started plotting out ways to negate the effects of a change in the plan he had already laid out for Shino.

"What's that buzzing?" Suzue finally interrupted her constant whining as she listened intently, looking around in some curiousity.

_Finally_. Shikamaru thought to himself.

"Just a few bugs. They have more of them here in Konoha than back at home, or at least a different kind of bug." Harumi sniffed derisively. "You're not _afraid _are you?"

"N…no." Suzue stumbled over her denial just slightly and blushed. "I'm fine."

"I'm not afraid of a few bugs." Harumi smiled brightly and stepped closer to Shikamaru. "And if it's a harmful type of bug, I'm sure Shika-kun will protect us."

Shikamaru made a pretense of pulling off one glove, sticking his finger in his mouth and then holding it out on the cold wind. One lone kikai beetle landed on his finger and buzzed loudly at him.

Both girls drew back, their eyes widening with slight alarm.

From his hidden perch, Shino grunted in approval. When Shikamaru had first laid out his plan, the Aburame had felt it was over-played. But now he could see how the lone beetle heightened the tension, foreshadowing events to come.

"Well, I don't think we have much to worry about." Shikamaru said slowly, but he let his eyes become wary as he looked around the area carefully. He was trying to be obvious, without being TOO obvious about it. He wanted them to note his worry, but not to guess it was faked.

Catching his sudden tension, both fangirls drew up stiffly. "There's more buzzing than from just that one little bug!" Suzue pointed a finger at the kikai as it flew away from Shikamaru.

"It IS winter." He mumbled to himself. "Surely it's not time …no, it's too early for that."

"Too early for WHAT??" Shrieked Harumi as she drew her winter cloak tighter around her. She turned her head this way and that, looking for the source of the growing buzzing sound.

Suzue sighed in relief as she thought of something. "These bugs are the same that the Aburame have. They're tame."

"Oh." Harumi sighed and fluffed her hair. "I knew that." She lied, trying to look like she'd not been freaked out.

Shikamaru nodded brightly and gave a false smile. "Yeah. Exactly. Come on let's go quickly."

"Why? They're tame." Suzue tapped her foot in impatience. "Shika-kun, you're not scared of a few bugs are you?"

The shadow-nin looked away, pretending embarrassment. His acting skills did not manage to allow him to blush however. "Not usually."

Harumi started to feel a bit paranoid. "Shika-kun? What's too early? Why are you …hey! That's the woman's hot bath. You can't go in there!"

Both girls hurried after Shikamrau, but he had a head start and was faster. He gave a short nod to Yugao as he grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bath house, turning around and shutting the door firmly on the other two girls.

Suzue banged on the door as she yelled at him. "What are you doing? Shika-kun!"

"The buzzing is getting louder." Gulped a frightened Harumi. Whatever could frighten Shikamaru, she didn't want to face it either. She and her sister where chuunin, but he was a jounin. Why was he so frightened that he ran? "Let …Let us in!"

"No room." Shikamaru called out, hiding his grin through the closed door as Yugao gave him a measuring look. "I didn't get the note that the Aburame bugs were going to swarm sooner this year. Find water! You need water to hide in."

"But …but you're in the bath house!" Harumi yelled. "And the river is almost frozen, we'll die if we jump in water that cold!"

Yugao eyed Shikamaru speculatively. "Aburame swarm?" She mouthed.

The shadow-nin just shook his head at her. "Find water quick! This is when the old hive is replaced with the young larva and are set free. They'll die in a few hours, but until then they'll strip meat off a bone as they swarm." He yelled through the door.

Yugao turned away, holding her hands over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.

The sound of buzzing became louder and one or both of the girls screamed in terror.

"RUN!" He shouted at them, then leaned back against the door and smiled genuinely for the first time since Shino had sicced the fangirls on him in the first place. "This is so troublesome. It had better be worth it and work."

o.o.o.o.o

"I can't help you stalk Shino." Hinata protested as Temari nearly dragged her down the street.

"You're not. I'm going to take care of that myself." The Sand kunoichi told her, then stopped in front of a store. "You are going to go back in there and buy that pink dress I made you try on earlier, then you're going to go find Ino and Sakura and tell them that we're going out tonight. Just the girls! I'll meet you back at my apartment in two hours."

Hinata shook her head, her mind stalling. "That pink dress? It didn't fit!"

"It fit perfectly, you looked hot in it! Now go get it, you're going to need it tonight." Temari pushed her toward the shop door.

"Ca…can I invite Chouji for tonight?" Hinata almost wailed, not wanting to go out, not really.

"That defeats the purpose! You're still a girl, not one half of a couple." Temari said, opening the door and fairly pushing Hinata inside. "But you can see him tomorrow and wear the pink dress. He'll love it, trust me!"

Hinata pulled the door back open, calling out to the blonde. "What will you be doing?"

Temari turned and flashed a wicked, wicked grin and held up a mysterious bag that she'd brought with her from the apartment. "Getting even."

o.o.o.o.o

Yugao finished laughing at the shadow-nin, finally clucking her tongue at him. "I don't know what you're hoping to accomplish with this little stunt. You just made yourself look like a coward to those girls. But I don't know if it'll be enough to rid yourself of them."

Shikamaru shrugged, but didn't answer.

"They'll just run into the bath house next door." Yugao said. "Then what are you going to do? And the Aburame swarm thing? They'd have to be idiots to fall for that."

"Yep." Shikamaru nodded. "Foreign idiots who know little of the flora and fauna of Konoha. They're far more interested in the way I eat eel than they are in studying the environ around them."

She snorted. "Then they get what they deserve." Yugao paused, pushing back her long blue hair. "But what **_are _**they getting, exactly?"

o.o.o.o.o

Shino used the kikai bugs to cut off exits from the area, effectively herding the two girls toward the other bath house. The men's bath house.

Finally, the two, while swatting ineffectively at the multitude of kikai insects now 'swarming' the area, ran into the men's bath house.

Shino called all the kikai toward the entrances and windows, so if the girls thought to escape, all they'd see was a wall of angry insects. His lips curled slightly. He had to give it to Shikamaru, the shadow-nin sure was good with strategy.

o.o.o.o.o

"Hmmm." Shikamaru said slowly. "Do you happen to know that a certain shinobi takes a hot bath at this time nearly every day after his missions? D-ranked missions?"

"So?" Yugao smiled, knowing this was going to be good.

The shadow-nin shrugged. "He's still not well trusted, so he's usually alone except for any ANBU that might still be watching him."

Yugao's eyes widened as she started to get a glimmer of understanding.

"Well." Shikamaru continued. "Better him than me. Besides, he's more used to fangirls than I am. And he can't kill them, he's trying to make a GOOD impression on the council."

o.o.o.o.o

Uchiha Sasuke frowned as he heard the commotion heading toward him. It sounded like …girls? He used the towel perched on his head to wipe his face. What were girls doing in the men's bath house? That was all he had time to ponder before the bath was invaded.

The two Suna kunoichi ran into the room and jumped into the hot springs, clothing and all. When they surfaced, they were face to face with a nude and shocked Sasuke, with heated water dripping off his face.

"Oh!" The girls eyes went wide as they took in his perfect visage, this time seeing him without the awful hives covering him.

Sasuke groaned as he caught sight of the glazed look in their eyes. "Not again." He moaned. He was here in Konoha looking for a wife, and a life with a new family. Not more fangirls.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru stepped out of the women's bath house and looked around. No fangirls. He signaled Shino, who called back in his kikai bugs. Still the girls didn't appear.

"Maybe you should check on them." Yugao suggested coolly as she watched the Aburame slip from the area, his part in the plan done.

"Why?" The shadow-nin shrugged. "The bugs didn't hurt them, and if they'd been stupid enough to jump in a freezing cold river, Shino would have let me know before he took off."

The blue-haired former ANBU just shook her head at him. "Fangirls aren't usually that fickle. They're stubborn and will stick with the 'prince' they've chosen no matter what. Remember what Yamanaka and Haruno were like."

"You knew about them chasing after Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, surprised.

"ANBU knows many, many things." Yugao gave him a quirky half smile.

The shadow-nin nodded. "You were keeping tabs on him, even then."

"He was the last Uchiha in the village." She said, but then closed her lips and refused to elaborate. Instread, she nodded toward the men's bathhouse. "They won't let go of you so quickly."

Shikamaru shook his head. "They switched from Gaara to me with little thought."

"It helped that Ino and Sakura trounced them publicly. Twice from what I've heard." Yugao mentioned as she watched the men's bath house to see what would happen next. "They had to let go of Gaara."

"Konoha has a better class of fangirl." Shikamaru shrugged. "These two are fickle and annoying. Sasuke's welcome to them."

At that moment, the door to the men's bath house opened and Sasuke stepped out. He looked ready to kill someone.

"Oops!" Shikamaru nodded to her. "Time to go!"

Yugao watched him move away quickly with a smile on her face. There was more to the Nara than she'd known. Perhaps …no. She shook her head and turned away. No, she wasn't interested in him, not like that. Still ….she turned to look in the direction in which he'd disappeared. Maybe …

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata found Sakura rather quickly, but the pink-haired kunoichi flat refused to go out with the other two girls that night.

"I haven't had a date alone with Kiba in nearly two weeks! Either Ino was upset, or my work at the hospital interfered, and then there is my mother! Kiba is trying so hard to get her to like him. Do you know he even brought her flowers the other night?" Sakura blew an errant strand of hair out of her face.

"Temari sounded determined." Hinata said shyly.

Sakura sighed and shrugged. "Look, I'll show up for an hour or two since Kiba's tied up on clan business until then. But I'm going out with him afterwards. Best I can promise, sorry."

Hinata nodded, actually relieved to hear Sakura talk like that. If she couldn't invite Chouji, maybe she could meet up with him later tonight? Like Kiba and Sakura were doing.

"I don't think Ino can make it though. She's got a shift at the hospital tonight until really late, or early in the morning …depending on how you look at it." Sakura gave a wry grin. "Actually, it was my shift but she volunteered to take it so I could go out with Kiba."

o.o.o.o.o

Shino walked into his room and stopped. Froze. The kikai bugs buzzed in sudden agitation.

Someone had been in here.

The bug-nin looked around carefully, noting everything. Nothing seemed out of placed. And yet …he knew that his space had been invaded.

A sly smiled curled over his lips. So, had it been Temari? It was about damned time. He'd wondered how long it would take to goad her into getting even with him. Had it been the glass frogs in the egg carton? Or maybe it was the plush one he'd hidden in her teapot?

Whatever it was, he was grateful. Temari was a proud woman, and he'd really hurt her when he'd cut her off the way he had. He'd been worried that she'd be too stubborn to forgive him. Yet she had. Partly.

They'd gone out for dinner, true. But he'd sensed a certain distance from her. A wariness that hadn't been there before. Then he'd stumbled over his own tongue and she'd challenged him. Questioned his control and whether or not he could 'stalk' her.

It had been like a gift from heaven. A chance to draw her out of her wariness. He'd leapt onto the opportunity like a drowning man. The way he had it figured, if SHE was stalking HIM …then she was attuned to him. Focused on him. He'd just had to prod her pride enough to spark her competitive nature.

Just where he wanted her. Shino swore to himself that he was going to win her back, no matter what.

So. What had she done? Probably left him one of his own frogs in an interesting place.

Shino let his bugs flit around the room, searching for signs of her earlier presence. How she'd gotten into the Aburame house undetected he didn't know. He was more interested in what she'd done once here.

A small cluster of bugs congregated around his clothing drawers. Opening one he actually chuckled. There were all the glass frogs he'd put in her refrigerator earlier. Sitting right on top of ….was that …

Shino held up some silky scraps, feeling his eyes go really wide. Hurriedly he searched through the drawer. Nope, she'd taken them all.

He wrapped his fingers around the silky bit of cloth and chuckled. She'd stolen every piece of his underwear, and left him a pile of her own. And in this nest of women's undies? Fat little glass frogs.

Seems Temari had declared 'war' on him. And Shino couldn't have been more delighted. Still, he did wonder about the scraps of lace and silk she'd left him. What was she trying to tell him?

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata stood in Temari's bedroom, looking utterly uncomfortable in the sexy pink dress. How had she let the Sand kunoichi talk her into a girl's night out anyway?

Temari walked in, her legs encased in see-through mesh and the short skirt on her new purple dress swinging sassily. Her hair was up in her usual pony tails, but she looked different somehow.

Hinata stared at her a moment. "Are you wearing make-up?"

"And perfume." The blonde said blithely. "Your turn."

The Hyuuga backed away slowly. "I don't wear make-up."

"And you don't really need it." Temari chuckled. "But this is just for us girls. Besides, aren't you curious at all what you'll look like with a little darkener on your lashes? Or a bit of pink on your lips?"

"N…no…no." Hinata stammered. "Father doesn't like make-up on ladies."

"Your father is not invited tonight." Temari said, advancing on Hinata slowly.

"But …"

"Think of it as practice, for Chouji." Temari pursed her lips. "Do this." She said, plumping out her lips for the coloring.

Hinata stood still and pursed her lips so Temari could tint them pink, to go with her new dress. She blotted as the other girl showed her. Then looked into the mirror. "Is that me?" She gasped.

Temari smiled. "Yes, it's all you. Now, let me do the eyes."

Hinata nodded and smiled. She'd always wondered about make-up, but had never dared to cross her father on so small an issue. Perhaps tonight would be fun after all.

The blonde finished with her eyes, giving only a very light shading so as not to overpower Hinata's delicate features.

A knock at the door had Temari calling out for someone to "come in". Sakura breezed in looking all dressed up as well. Hinata was relieved that the pink-haired kunoichi also seemed to be wearing make-up.

Sakura came up just as Temari brushed some powder over Hinata's face. "Nice job. Love the dress."

The Sand kunoichi whistled and nodded toward the mirror. "Three killer kunoichi about to hit the town."

Sakura stood proud and lithe in a form fitting red and gold dress. It wasn't as short as Temari's, but it was slit all the way up on either side with leggings underneath that did nothing to hide her toned legs. And the low cut top nearly had Hinata blushing.

Next her eyes slid to her own image. Was that really her? Her eyes were suddenly defined and framed with lush dark lashes. The pale color of her iris' suddenly 'popped' out prominently with the addition of the tinted powders Temari had used on her lids. And the dress! The skirt was longer than Temari's and without the slits like on Sakura's …but it was so form fitting! Every curve was shown to perfection.

Hinata raised her arms to cover her bosom.

Sakura and Temari caught her hands and pulled them away.

The blonde kunoichi chuckled. "You're not shy little Hinata tonight. You're a strong, capable, beautiful ninja and the world will be at your feet. At least the male part of the world."

Sakura laughed as she eyed the three of them in the mirror. "Konoha may never be the same."

Hinata felt goose bumps as Sakura spoke and hoped the other girl wasn't speaking literally.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed. I'm not at home and have had to deal with many, many interruptions. Hope it doesn't come across that way! REVIEWS are always welcome!**


	33. A Night to Remember

She woke the moment her bedroom window slid open noiselessly. Even without a sound being heard she was instantly alert to the shift in air currents., she smiled as she recognized the chakra signature. She smiled sleepily to herself.

The soft thunk of dropping boots was followed by the faint rustle of clothing. Finally the sheet was lifted and a big, strong body slid into the bed behind her. One arm snaking around her to pull her into his heat.

TenTen sighed with pleasure even as she complained faintly. "Your Suna instructors think I'm some pampered diva, having to go to bed so damned early rather than head out with them for a drink. It's not like I could explain I wasn't tired, that I was really waiting for you to get back today. It's barely even dark out."

Kankuro kissed her ear loudly, making her grin in the darkness. "We just got back from my mission, though I did take time to take a shower this time before coming over here."

"Good. Then THIS time I won't be kicking you out of bed to go clean up first." TenTen teased him, turning over to look into his eyes in the dimness of her bedroom. "Hmmm …I missed you." Her hands reached for him.

He yawned hugely and apologized. "Sorry, no sleep for nearly three days. Can we just cuddle? You don't know how hard it was to fall asleep without you."

Slightly taken aback, TenTen frowned in the darkness. This wasn't like him, he'd have to be half dead to turn down sex. Suddenly she sniffed loudly, catching the faint coppery scent of blood. Quicker than a snake she yanked the sheet off of him and turned on the bedroom light.

"Oy! What's the big idea?" He complained, blinking hard in protest to the sudden light.

TenTen however was ignoring his words as she ran her hands up and down him, searching. "You're hurt. Where?"

"You just want to put your hands on my hot body, admit it." He leered, then Kankuro sighed and gave up as she gave him an ill-tempered glare. He rolled onto his back to reveal a long trail of gauze covering some sort of wound traveling from the nape of his neck down toward the opposite thigh.

The Leaf weapons mistress frowned at the state of the dressing. "The medics haven't seen this yet have they? This is still the field dressing! You idiot, what if it's infected?"

"TenTen, don't make such a fricken big deal of it." He moaned. "It's a stupid scratch, that's all. OUCH! Damn it!" He roared as she tore the dressing off of his skin without preamble.

She frowned and poked and prodded at him. "It doesn't look too bad." She admitted, feeling more relief than she knew what to do with. "Shallow."

"Like me." He smirked.

She slapped his shoulder lightly. "You are not shallow, no matter how much you like to pretend otherwise." She growled, then traced the wound lightly. "I don't like the redness here near your shoulder blade, we're going to see the medic."

"Now?" He whined in protest.

"Big baby." She teased with more humor than she actually felt, getting out of bed to get dressed. It bothered her how shaky she felt at the idea of him being hurt, even just a little.

Kankuro yawned again and blinked wearily at her. "Look, it's not that bad. All I want to do is go to sleep. Seriously, it's been three days without a wink of sleep at all. That's the only reason I got hurt in the first place, too tired to dodge properly."

TenTen frowned down at him, he really did look wiped out. "Shepherding genin on their first "C" ranked mission doesn't usually get the teacher hurt."

The puppeteer sighed. "Who do you think hurt me? We were doing fine until another group of genin came upon us on their way back to Suna. Thought they'd jump in and help. You see the result before you."

TenTen looked at him a moment then shook her head. "I don't buy it. You've got a great sense of self-preservation. You could have dodged easily."

Kankuro turned a suspicious shade of red and rolled so that she couldn't see his face.

She barked a laugh and sat down on the bed beside him. "That's it isn't it! You don't want to admit you didn't dodge because if you had one of your genin would have been hurt."

"They're NOT my genin." He huffed, trying to turn the subject. "Their sensei is recovering in the hospital. I'm just substituting for a while."

TenTen stroked his back slightly, making him shiver. "And now you know why their sensei is hurt, looks like you have your work cut out for you." She leaned down and kissed his neck. "Let me put some ointment on this and re-dress it, the medics can look at it in the morning."

Kankuro turned his head to look at her as she walked toward the bathroom, her hips swaying in a counterpoint to her long hair that teased the tops of her thighs. "Heaven was looking out for me when you pulled my name." He said softly.

She laughed, not able to see his face as she rummaged through the bathroom drawer. If she had seen his face, she'd have known he wasn't kidding.

The Suna puppeteer listened to her chastise him for letting his guard down at all as he savored the moment. THIS was what he wanted. Oh, not being hurt, but her …here …tending him, laying beside him …loving him.

Kankuro wondered how long he'd need to wait for her to be ready. This was so damned hard. They'd not been seeing each other that long and he didn't want to scare her away.

So. What was the right amount of time to wait before asking her such an important question?

o.o.o.o.o

"We're going out rather early." Temari complained a bit as the girls made their way into the club. "Hardly anyone is here.

Sakura shrugged and winked at the bartender as she held up three fingers and pointed at a nearby table. "Just wait, it'll get crowded. Besides, I'm meeting Kiba here later so we needed to go out earlier if we wanted to have any fun first."

Hinata looked around wide eyed.

Temari chuckled. "First time here?" She asked, looking around the inn as if she'd never been here before. "It's a bit rustic, but hardly a dive."

"We're not in Konoha." Hinata said quietly. She'd really been shocked as they'd actually left the village for the nearby port city.

Temari and Sakura divested themselves of their heavy winter cloaks, eliciting a few favorable if unsavory comments. Hinata pulled her cloak tighter around herself, her eyes seeking out routes of escape.

"She's ready to bolt already." The pink-haired kunoichi whispered loudly. The band hadn't finished setting up yet, so it wasn't yet a struggle to be heard.

Hinata startled guiltily and shook her head. "I am not." She protested and gathered her courage around her. Her fingers only _barely_ trembled as she slid open the clasp on the brooch holding her cloak together. She pulled it off her shoulders just as one of the band members turned to look in their direction.

The loud clanging of the falling box of instruments was tremendously loud. It seemed the band member had tripped over his own feet. Everyone turning to stare at him, though his eyes never left Hinata and her curve-hugging pink dress.

She blushed.

A few of the other men grinned and clapped their fallen band member on the back as they whistled heartily in her direction. Hinata blushed harder.

Temari chuckled and pulled Hinata into a seat at their table just as a waiter drew up with their drinks. Honeyed plum wine, heated. She pushed a drink into the hand of the purple-haired girl. "Here, you look like you need this."

Sakura plucked the drink back from the other girl and shook her head as she sipped her own drink. "This night is for us to have fun. We're going to torture Shino and make Kiba's tongue loll out when he sees me in this dress. It is NOT to make Hinata drunk."

"Aw, granny …you take the fun out of everything." Temari pouted slightly and picked up her own drink, sipping it as she let her eyes travel over the people already present. She waved at Genma over in the corner. The jounin looked behind him before returning her wave, making sure he was the intended target of her gaze.

Hinata goggled as she watched Temari flirt so outrageously. Even more outrageous, the older shinobi was flirting back! "You …you …."

"She's not cheating." Sakura explained gently. "This is just a little bit of harmless fun. Genma knows it too."

"How?" Hinata begged. "Are you sure he's not taking you seriously?"

Temari shrugged. "He's not coming over here. So he knows."

Hinata's eyes grew huge. "Yes he is." She pointed, then blushed as she dropped her hand.

"_He is_?" Temari's eyes widened and she stiffened while turning to watch as Genma leaned over their table. "Do I need to put in a call to ANBU to keep the peace around here? Last I heard you all had boyfriends already." He grinned. "Don't forget, I've been following the Uchiha around and I know who is seeing whom right now."

Sakura stiffened. "He's here? Oh crap, I don't want Kiba thinking that I'm following Sasuke around or anything."

"Relax beautiful." Genma said smoothly and put some money down on the table. "It's my night off. Here, let me pick up the next round."

Hinata nearly sputtered. "B…but we do all have boyfriends." She protested, pushing the money away from her.

"Relax little butterfly." Genma grinned. "This is just a thank you for flirting with me and making an older guy feel special. Besides, I already have a girl and as soon as she's off duty we'll be meeting up too."

Temari grinned, then caught a peek of someone coming through the door. She laughed a bit louder than normal and leaned into Genma, her eyes sparkling. "Sakura's beautiful, and Hinata's a butterfly ….so what about me?"

But Genma had also seen who'd entered. He grinned down at the Sand kunoichi and laughed. "Trouble. A big, gorgeous, wonderful helping of trouble. Now, I'm leaving before we find out if I'm allergic to kikai bites too. Those hives that Sasuke had looked painful."

Temari grinned up at him as he took his leave, watching as Genma said a few words to Aburame Shino before heading for the door. She waved over at the bug-ninja standing by the bar, then turned back to her friends. Sakura pushed Hinata's untouched drink toward the Sand kunoichi. Temari drained it, sputtered and coughed as it burned its way down, then smiled.

Hinata blanched at the evil intent inherent in Temari's smile.

Sakura sighed and signaled for another round of drinks.

o.o.o.o.o

Uchiha Sasuke was about to kill someone. Two someones to be more specific. Actually he wasn't even sure of their names. Harumi and Suzue ….maybe, but he wasn't real sure which one was which. And frankly, he didn't especially care.

He'd managed to keep them a few feet away, rather than hanging all over him, but that was about it. He'd been rude, nasty and mean. But it hadn't helped much. And he needed to keep on the good side of the Konoha elder council, so murdering foreign nationals under the protection of the Leaf village was out of the question. Shit.

Sasuke rounded the corner toward Naruto's favorite ramen stand, hoping for a little moral support. But unfortunately, the blonde wasn't there. He frowned at the customers at the bar, none of whom he knew.

"Looking for Uzumaki?"

Sasuke turned and sighed, looking down at Hyuuga Hanabi. At least they weren't on the same team anymore. He may still be a genin, but he was on a team all his own with Inuzuka Tsume as his sensei. Two man missions, so to speak. It was a sight better than running around with true genin.

"Looking for me?" He responded, then jerked his head toward the giggling fangirls currently trying to catch his attention. "You have competition now."

"You wish." She dismissed him as if he smelled of oxen dung.

Sasuke blinked. "Yes, I'm looking for Naruto. You've seen him?"

Hanabi shook her head. "Yes. But he left for a date with his girlfriend, you're out of luck."

A hissing sound interrupted his thoughts, he turned to see that the two Suna fangirls were making faces at Hanabi. He turned back toward the Hyuuga. "Would you do a favor for an old teammate?"

She snorted inelegantly.

"Right." He sighed. "How about for money then?"

Hanabi laughed in his face. "I'm a rich heiress, remember?"

Sasuke sighed and nodded, then tensed as one of the two girls called his name. "Sasu-kun! You don't want to be seen talking to _her_! She's a troll!"

He looked at Hanabi. "Would you do it to get back at them for calling you names?"

"The opinions of idiots matter very little." She yawned and looked away.

Sasuke nodded and started to turn away, but found that the two Suna fangirls were now in front of him. Posing and flipping back their long hair while batting eyelashes at him. He turned back to Hanabi. "For pity? Would you do it for pity?"

Hanabi eyed him a moment then called out to the Suna fangirls. "He doesn't like sweets, but he adores a good vocalist. He LOVES singing, especially sappy ballads."

Sasuke groaned and glared at her. Hanabi smiled and winked at him.

The two Suna fangirls burst into song right there on the streets of Konoha. They both sucked.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen washed her hands of the healing ointment and returned to look at her handiwork. Kankuro's back had a new row of gauze covering the long slashing wound. A snorting snore interrupted her musings and she grinned.

Poor baby really was tired. She leaned over and pushed a lock of hair out of his face and pressed a feather soft kiss to his lips.

TenTen was about to turn off the light when she spied the pile of clothing on the rug. Pursing her lips in disgust, she decided that her boyfriend really was a slob. She picked up the discarded clothing and was about to put it in her hamper when she realized she had a problem.

She couldn't be seen laundering his clothing! What was the point of him sneaking around to keep her reputation intact if she was seen doing his wash? Bah. While they weren't hiding the fact that they were dating, Kankuro had insisted that the Suna elder council didn't need to know certain aspects of their relationship. Like the sex.

TenTen grinned. He was so oldfashioned sometimes. Yet, she hadn't wanted to be seen as loose, so she'd agreed. So. What about his dirty clothes? Looking around, she grabbed his fallen travel pack and opened it. She'd just toss them in here and he could do his own laundry later.

She folded the clothing, then frowned as she saw that Kankuro's stuff was shoved inside without any sense of order.

"You are a total slob, do you know that?" She told him, a snore was his only response. "Good thing I love you."

TenTen pulled out his stuff and started folding it when a small box fell out of his travel pack. She eyed the box curiously. It didn't look like any weapon she knew of, and she knew most of them!

After checking for traps, TenTen opened the box and stopped breathing.

The rings sparkled. Both of them. One was a diamond set in an intricate dance of gold fashioned with smaller diamonds around the band. Next to it was a plain gold ring. A wedding band.

Her chest started hurting as she realized she still wasn't breathing. A gasping breath had her scrambling for the safety of the bathroom, lest her harsh breathing wake up her lover.

Lover? How about _husband_? TenTen mouthed the word to herself. Husband. Trembling fingers traced the rings as her vision blurred.

Was she ready for this? It was such a huge step! TenTen nearly cried as she held the rings in her hand, watching the light play of the diamonds. She _wasn't _ready! Not yet anyway.

Was she?

What should she do? What was she going to say when he asked her to marry him? How did a person say '_no, not yet_' without breaking up the relationship?

o.o.o.o.o

A knock on her door had Shizune sighing. She wondered who it was. Gai been around every hour on the hour ever since she'd laid her challenge on him, but it wasn't time yet for his next visit.

The knock repeated. Putting aside her book, she stood and stretched before padding over toward the door. She opened it to a huge bundle of flowers. Looking around, she could sense no one around. Shizune leaned over and sniffed the huge bouquet, smiling.

"You are a persistent man, Gai." She shook her head and smiled. Reaching into the flowers, she plucked out the card. Frowning, she turned it over and marveled at how heavy it felt.

Opening the envelope she nearly laughed out loud.

_**I may be restricted to SPEAKING only ten words at a time ….**_

_**But I can write my feelings as well!**_

The paper unfolded and she eyed the length of the note ruefully as it reached the tips of her shoes.

o.o.o.o.o

About two hours into the evening Hinata was sipping hot tea while turning down every offer that came her way to dance.

Sakura grinned as she watched Temari on the dance floor with yet another man. "She's really letting Shino have it." She said, looking over to where the bug-nin was watching from the bar.

"She says she loves him." Hinata said hesitantly.

"Oh trust me, she does." Sakura winked and sipped her drink. "She wouldn't be out there doing this if Shino weren't watching."

"Care to dance, beautiful?" Someone tapped her on the shoulder as they spoke.

Hinata shut her eyes and sighed. "I already have a boyfriend." After the first ten requests, she'd stopped blushing.

Chouji leaned down and kissed her ear, making her jump up in shock. "Good to hear it." He grinned at her, then dropped his jaw as he got a good look at what she was wearing. "Hinata?"

"Temari made me do it!" She said hesitantly, then stopped as she realized he was smiling. He liked the way she looked. Pleasure bloomed deep inside as she silently thanked Temari in her head.

Sakura chuckled. "Chouji! What a _surprise_ this is!"

Hinata spun around. "It's just a coincidence!"

The pink-haired girl laughed and shook her head. "You're a poor liar for a kunoichi. But it's alright. Temari and I had a side bet on when you told Chouji to meet you here."

Chouji grinned. "Who won?"

Sakura pulled a face. "She did, I thought you'd be here sooner."

The Akimichi reached for Hinata's hand. "Now, how about that dance?"

The smile on Hinata's face was all the answer he needed before pulling her onto the dance floor.

A moment later Kiba slid into the Hyuuga's vacated spot. He grinned as he grabbed Sakura's glass of heated wine and downed it. Flashing fangs at her he nodded toward the dance floor. "Clan business ran long, sorry about that. Dance?"

Before Sakura could answer, a hand reached out and grabbed hers, pulling her onto the dance floor. Temari winked at Kiba. "Sorry, this dance is mine dog-boy."

Kiba sighed and leaned back in his chair, his eyes eagerly following the two girls onto the dance floor. "Oh yeah, baby."

"You're a pervert." The quiet voice announced from behind him.

Kiba didn't even bother to look at Shino, not wanting to miss one moment of the girl's sexy little dance. He whistled loudly in appreciation as Temari pulled Sakura close and spun her around. "You're watching too." He commented dryly.

Shino grunted, but conceded the point. "It does feel rather ….hot in here."

The Inuzuka laughed and pounded the table as he whistled again at the two girls as they gyrated suggestively then leaned in closer to each other.

Only Shino saw some of the jealous looks being thrown their way.

About thirty minutes later, those looks were getting more and more obvious. Shino looked over at Chouji, who nodded. The bug-ninja watched carefully as the Akimichi skillfully led Hinata out of the inn. Several men reached out toward her, but no hands connected. Shino's smile was tight lipped as he grunted in approval of Chouji's moves. Hinata never even noticed.

Finally, Shino tapped Kiba on the shoulder. "It might turn rough in here."

Kiba grinned, his fangs in full evidence. "I can handle rough." In fact, he looked eager.

Shino nodded. "I know. But Sakura got in enough trouble for that fight with the fangirls. She doesn't need any more. Besides, her mother will blame it all on you."

The Inuzuka frowned sharply and nodded. "Only too true. You have a point, much as I regret saying that. I'm making progress though. She doesn't get up and sit between us anymore when I come over to visit Sakura."

Shino grunted and walked out onto the dance floor, stepping in between Temari and Sakura. The pink-haired girl was whisked away by Kiba instantly. She didn't protest at all, in fact, Temari would later swear the girl was grinning ear-to-ear.

The Aburame heir watched Temari dance a moment while he stood still on the dance floor. "About done?" He asked quietly. "This place looks like it will turn rough soon."

Temari laughed in his face. "Rough? This is nothing compared to Suna." She turned and smiled becomingly to a huge guy sitting in the corner drinking alone.

"Enough." Shino grabbed her hand and started to lead her off the dance floor.

"Not hardly." She said, trying to pull away. But she wasn't putting her full effort into it.

The big guy in the corner stood and started walking toward them. "You ninja, you think you can keep all the good looking ones to yourselves?"

Temari eyed him and then started to pull Shino toward the door. "Ooops!"

Shino sent three kikai to bite the guy, who turned and slugged the man behind him, thinking the attack was coming from him. The fight took no time to involve everyone else in the bar and the sound of breaking glass followed Shino and Temari as they left the inn behind.

Temari threw back her head and groaned. "I forgot my cloak!"

Shino pulled off his own and wrapped it around her. "It's your fault for being so cold, wearing that dress on a night like this."

"It's your fault for leaving my cloak inside." Temari teased him, even as she shivered. "Kiba had Sakura's with him and Chouji managed to snag Hinata's."

"You saw that did you? You're not as drunk as you're acting." Shino said coolly, then winced as one of the windows of the inn shattered from the force of someone heaving being thrown against it. "We need to go."

"But you'll freeze!" She looked horrified.

Shino's lips quirked up slightly. "Kikai bugs. They help regulate my temperature, remember? I'll get home fine." He exaggerated a bit. Sure it would be a cold trip, but the bugs would help a lot.

o.o.o.o.o

Gai struck his manly-man post as Shizune opened the door of her apartment. "Will you make a man happy by marrying him?" He grinned and added the tenth word. "Please?"

Shizune sighed. "I'm cutting you off at 10:00 p.m., I do have to sleep. Oh, and here." She shoved his note in at him before shutting her door firmly.

Gai frowned and looked down at his long, yet heart-felt note. Then he grinned. She'd not only read the note, she'd made comments and notations! He clutched the note to his chest, ready to shout out how much he appreciated her beauty and thoughtfulness when he realized he didn't have any words left, not until tomorrow.

He grinned, his teeth gleaming white as he silently vowed to be back first thing in the morning!

o.o.o.o.o

"Here I am! Safe and sound, you can go now." Temari leaned against her apartment door, then frowned. "Here." She pulled his cloak off and wrapped it around him.

Shino didn't smile. "Temari?"

"I found your little froggy friends, did you find them back?" She asked.

"That's not all I found." He said wryly. He reached over and flicked the skirt of her dress as she let herself into her apartment. "What are you wearing under that if you left all your underwear in my drawer?" He didn't add that he'd been nearly delirious wondering that the whole damned night.

Temari stood framed in the doorway as she grinned at him. "Who says I left you all of my underwear?" She teased, then beckoned him forward, snatching his sunglasses off his face. "But I did. And I'm not wearing a damned thing under my leggings."

Shino's eyes went comically wide as he swallowed hard. His eyes flew down her body, then snapped back up to her eyes. "Really?" His voice went gruff and hoarse.

"Really." She smirked and closed the door in his face.

A moment later, she opened the door back up and stared at him. He hadn't moved. She wasn't even sure he'd blinked. "Out of curiosity, since I stole all of your undershorts, you must be going without as well."

Shino blinked his chocolate dark eyes at her. "No. I'm wearing a pair of yours."

Temari's mouth formed an 'oh' of surprise as she blushed from her hairline all the way down. "Damn." She coughed. "That shouldn't sound nearly as sexy as it does."

"Goodnight." He told her, starting to back away.

The blonde kunoichi grabbed a fistful of his cloak and yanked him inside her apartment, slamming the door behind him. "Not before I get to see what you're wearing."

She leaned into him, her lips finding his. Shino's arms rose around her, pulling her in tightly.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen couldn't sleep. Sure Kankuro snored a bit, but it wasn't that bad. What had her so sleepless were those rings. Those two, gorgeous unexpected rings. She turned to stare at him in the dark, tracing each line of his face with her eyes.

She loved him. Deeply and utterly. That wasn't the issue.

So what would be so wrong about marrying him? Butterflies danced in her stomach at the mere thought. Could she do this? Sure she'd come out to Suna to be with him, but …but Konoha was still her _home_. Right?

Dawn was usually slow coming when insomnia struck, but not this time. She needed more time to think! TenTen laid there, her mind racing as the light outside grew slowly brighter. She was still there, watching, when Kankuro's eyes blinked open and he caught her staring at him.

The puppet master grinned and reached out with chakra strings to drag her closer to him. Kissing her neck happily.

TenTen lost herself in the moment, savoring each and every touch, every murmur, every shiver he elicited.

Yes. She decided suddenly. She _could_ marry him.

o.o.o.o.o

Shino smiled lazily down at Temari. "We didn't get much rest." He commented as she looked out the window at the coming dawn.

She grinned and rolled on top of him. "You say that like it's a bad thing."

Shino shook his head, holding her. "Never."

Temari mock growled down at him. "You lied, by the way. You weren't wearing my underpants."

Shino shrugged and gloried in the bliss following their lovemaking. "I borrowed a pair of my father's."

"Cheater." She teased him, leaning down to kiss her way down his chest.

Shino sighed happily as his blood started heating up again.

Temari looked surprised as this time he rolled her over on her back. "So soon?" She grinned.

"Kikai bugs help us Aburame re-energize quickly." He blinked down at her, his look both sensual and needy.

Temari caught her breath. "Let's hear it for the kikai." She gasped out breathlessly.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro knocked on his brother's office door, knowing that he'd be in early. Gaara was always up early. Even after all this time without the Sand demon, his little brother didn't sleep much. Habits of a lifetime and all that. His back twinged a bit as he opened the door, he'd have to go see the medics today. Not that he thought he needed to, but because he'd promised TenTen. Thinking of his girlfriend had him grinning as Gaara looked up from his paperwork.

"You look happy." The red-head commented.

"I am." Kankuro grinned. "I'll give you a full report on the mission later, but I have a date with TenTen for breakfast so can we make this fast?"

"Things are going well with you two." Gaara said, and it wasn't a question. His brother had never seemed so at ease, so happy than since TenTen had arrived in Suna. He only hoped she'd stay. "Did you get it?"

Kankuro pulled out a small jewelers box from his travel pack and tossed the box to Gaara. He frowned. "I still think you're rushing things." He commented. "I like Ino and all, but don't you think this is a little fast?"

Gaara snapped open the box, staring intently down at the rings he'd designed himself. "No."

Kankuro sighed and nodded. "Well, I'll see you after breakfast for that report." He sighed again as he saw that Gaara wasn't listening as he was lost in his own thoughts. The puppeteer only prayed that Ino felt the same way Gaara did. Or they'd be picking up the pieces in Suna for years.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well?**


	34. Odd Man Out

The omelet was perfectly cooked and smelled utterly delicious, unfortunately Hinata had suddenly lost her appetite. Slowly, dazed, she put her chopsticks down and stared at her father's plate. "I'm sorry, what did you …"

"You and Akimichi Chouji are betrothed. His father and I signed the agreements yesterday." Hiashi didn't seem to notice his daughter's sudden tension.

Hanabi put down her own set of chopsticks, her eyes taking in her sister's shock and her father's happy demeanor all at the same time. "Congratulations." She said slowly as she tried to decipher the hunted look on Hinata's face. Hanabi knew beyond any doubt how her older sister felt about Chouji, so why the tense expression on her face?

Hinata's face wasn't red, it was deathly white. Like the girl might faint at any moment. In a hesitant voice she looked up at her father. "Does Chouji know?"

Hiashi finished chewing and swallowed as he shrugged. "I would assume so, his father seemed to think Chouji was all for such an arrangement." The Hyuuga clan leader finally took a look at his daughter's face and frowned sharply. "This is a signed agreement Hinata. I was under the impression this young man makes you happy."

"He does!" Hinata rushed to say in her quiet little voice, but there was a haunted look to her eyes that had Hiashi pausing.

"I will not have you dishonoring the clan by backing out of an agreement like this." He said sternly, pinning her with his glare. "But if you know of any reason why this arrangement will not benefit the Hyuuga clan, then speak now."

_The clan_? Hanabi bit her tongue. What about Hinata? What was for her best interest? The younger sister looked down at her plate and felt her stomach rebel. Was this what it meant to be the clan heir? To cut off feelings for individuals for the sake of the entire family? To sacrifice a child …or a sister? Hanabi shivered lightly, drawing her father's attention.

"Are you coming down with that fever that's been going around?" He asked his youngest.

Hanabi shook her head, then saw how relieved Hinata looked with her father's attention diverted. So she shrugged. "I hope not." She said vaguely. "Is it cold in here to you?"

Hiashi frowned and looked over at the roaring fireplace. "Perhaps we should send for a medic, just to be sure." He then shot a glance at his oldest. "Are you feeling well, Hinata?"

"I'm fine." Hinata managed a small smile, fake though it was.

Her father grunted lightly, pushing away his plate. "I needed to go check the guard roster, with two men sick it needs to be adjusted."

Hinata stood quickly. "I can do that, if you would like to send for a medic for Hanabi."

Slightly startled, Hiashi nodded slowly. "Yes, perhaps that would be best. Go on then, then perhaps you could get some ideas for your wedding and put together some lists."

Again Hinata paled, but she nodded before starting to leave. At the door she squeaked and spun around. "Father?" She swallowed hard. "When …when is the wedding to be?"

o.o.o.o.o

"Are you in or out?" Tsunade asked with irritation.

Genma shrugged. "I'm thinking."

Raido grinned and slapped his money down. "My bet is on the Akimichi boy. No doubt about it."

Shizune sighed as she passed the group and headed into the Hokage's office to actually do some _work_. Something that wasn't high on Tsunade's list of things to do today apparently.

Genma shook his head and used his tongue to slide his usual senbon to the other side of his mouth. "No. No, I'm putting my money on Temari of the Sand. She'll bring Shino to heel quicker."

Kakashi walked into the outer office accompanied by Kurenai and Ibiki. All three stopped in their tracks as every eye swung their way. Kakashi whispered out of the corner of his mouth, hidden by his mask. "Is it just me, or do they look … dangerous?"

Ibiki nodded slowly. "It's not just you."

Kurenai pursed her lips as she spied the charts laid out on the reception desk. "It's a betting pool." She said with disgust as the two men beside her relaxed.

Tsunade swung her arms out wide. "We're placing wagers on the first marriage to come out of the 'undateable' list."

Ibiki nodded, rubbing his chin lightly. "Which couples?" He asked, just as three ANBU members walked in behind him. Ibiki made room for them as they all looked down at the charts.

Genma pointed out the list of names. "Shino and Temari, Kiba and Sakura, Chouji and Hinata, and Kankuro with TenTen."

Shizune sniffed as she walked by again. "You should add Lee and Matsuri, she did stay in Konoha for him."

"How about you and Gai?" Tsunade said slyly, her eyes shifting over to her suddenly red-faced and silent assistant. She laughed as Shizune beat a hasty retreat back into the office. "I love doing that."

"You're mean." Kakashi sighed. "Though to be fair, if you add Lee you have to add Sai."

"Do you think anyone will place a bet on Anko agreeing to anything as conventional as marriage when she still refuses to admit she's dating Sai?" Kureani yawned.

One of the ANBU shinobi turned the chart around, reading intently. He had the mask of a bear, while the two ninja who flanked him wore an eagle and a raven.

Kakashi yawned. "My money's on Sakura. She's got the Inuzuka wrapped around her little finger."

Ibiki shook his head. "Hinata and Chouji. They are always together, and they don't spat like the Aburame lad and his girl."

Kurenai frowned and shook her head. "No, no …this is for marriage, not engagement. The Hyuuga and Akimichi clans are too old fashioned. If they marry it will be a longer betrothal. My money …is on …Kankuro and TenTen."

Ibiki frowned at her even as his eyes softened as he caught the edge of her smile. It still amazed him that his beautiful women would even look his way. "Why not Shino or Kiba if not Hinata? They're all on your team."

Kurenai smiled brightly and pulled out her money pouch. "I helped out Kankuro and TenTen back at the beginning, and there was real heat there between them. They'll marry and it'll be before any formal arrangement of the Hyuuga clan."

Genma grinned around his senbon. "My thoughts exactly, but the heat is between Temari and Shino. Trust me, they'll be married soon enough."

Raido frowned, not having considered the customs of the clans involved. Then he grinned. "Genma? Don't forget, the Aburame are just as old fashioned as the Hyuuga, if not more so."

"Shit." Came the pithy reply as Genma frowned down at the charts.

The eagle masked ANBU put down some money. "Shino and Temari, she'll have him proposing soon from what I've seen. And I've followed the Sand delegates enough over the years to be pretty sure of it. She'll get her way."

"No." The raven masked ANBU shinobi chuckled. "It'll be the Inuzuka. Hot blooded, you've never worked with Tsume. Trust me, if her son is anything like her, that boy will reel in Haruno quickly, I promise."

Tsunade grinned as she counted the money collected so far.

Kurenai cocked her head slightly as she looked at the Hokage. "Who did you put your money on?"

Shizune opened the door and peeked out just as Tsunade gloated. "I have insider information, so it shouldn't really be fair. But it is my pool so …."

"She wagered heavily, you see the Akimichi and Hyuuga clans signed an agreement last night." Shizune intoned solemnly, but then frowned sharply over at Tsunade. "But that doesn't mean that they'll be the first to marry. You could still lose."

Everyone in the room groaned. Everyone that is except for the bear masked ANBU. He cleared his throat and everyone stilled. "The Kazekage." He said clearly and loudly, putting his money down on the table.

Genma and Raido laughed outright as everyone else groaned. Except for Ibiki who looked startled.

"No chance, no way." Raido grinned, his laughter fading. "They dated what, a month? He's been gone and he's sent, what one letter?"

"Two, another arrived today." The bear masked shinobi nodded at the rest of the group. "I look forward to spending your money." He said, then left with his ANBU team.

Genma shook his head. "Two letters and he expects them to marry first? Bah. Easy pickings for the rest of us though!"

Tsunade chuckled and agreed heartily as she whistled and counted up the pooled money again.

Ibiki looked away though, as everyone else discussed the 'foolish' bet of the bear masked individual. No one knew the identities of ANBU members. They were a closely guarded secret. Except for himself, of course, he wasn't exactly a secret. But it stood to reason that knowing exactly who was in charge of torture helped instill fear in others. Yet all other ANBU identities were kept very secret.

Still, as a division leader within ANBU himself, Ibiki did know that the man wearing the bear mask was their leader. The head of ANBU black ops itself and a very dangerous man. He wondered just what the man knew that no one else did. Suddenly Ibiki regretted putting his money on young Akimichi even though he was already betrothed according to Shizune.

Kurenai shrugged off Ibiki's suddenly somber mood, not knowing who had been in the bear mask. She just looked at the Hokage and smiled. "So, when is the Hyuuga-Akimichi wedding anyway?"

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji stared at his father as he tried to wrap his mind around this information. "Seven months?"

Akimichi Asami wiped her tearful eyes yet again. "My baby! Getting married! Oh! Oh …perhaps I should contact Hinata? Poor lamb doesn't have a mother. She'll need someone older to lean on for some decisions."

"You just want to be in on all the fun." Choza chuckled, knowing his wife too well. "I'm sure Hinata has aunts or cousins who will be helping her."

"Seven months?" Chouji repeated, still shocked to the bottom of his toes. "Betrothed?"

Asami nodded and ran her fingers through his hair. "According to your father the Hyuuga clan wanted a year long betrothal. But there is a celebration day in September special to the Akimichi and Lord Hiashi was most considerate to allow us to move it up a few months."

Choza smiled, his cheeks red with pleasure, and some celebratory drinking the night before. "Most advantageous terms for both clans, I must say. Her dowry was generous and we were able to come to terms on the seals."

Chouji blanched and swayed, knowing Hinata feared the curse seal of her clan. "They're going to seal her like Neji?"

The Akimichi clan leader shook his head, his smile growing larger. "No. I insisted on that point, of course. We Akimichi can't have a member of our clan wearing a seal that allows a Hyuuga to control them or hurt them in any way."

"Akimichi clan member?" Chouji repeated dumbly.

Choza frowned and looked into his son and heir's eyes. "Hinata will become an Akimichi the moment she marries." He paused. "Chouji? I thought this would be good news. Are you alright? Do you want this marriage, it's not too late."

Chouji stiffened and shook his head. "I'm fine. It's just …just …does Hinata know yet?"

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba ran his fingers up Sakura's leg from the foot he'd been massaging, tickling the back of her knee. Her foot jerked involuntarily and accidently connected with the underside of his chin.

"SHWT!" The dog-nin moaned, clamping his hands over his mouth at the sudden shock of pain.

Sakura frowned and sat up, nearly falling out of her chair as she made a grab for him. "Kiba! Oh I'm so sorry! Damn it, let me look!"

But the Inuzuka was shaking his head back and forth, trying to clear the stars from the undersides of his eyes. She'd really nailed him with that kick. He groaned and evaded her hands as she tried to make him open his mouth.

"Sakura!"

The pink-haired kunoichi looked up frowning until she saw the radiant look on Ino's face as she waltzed in the door. She jumped up squealing like a schoolgirl. "He wrote again?" She guessed from the look on her friend's face.

"Letter number two!" Ino preened a bit, laughing as the two girls smiled and hugged.

"When are you going to let me read them?" Sakura pouted as she pushed charts off the spare chair in her small office space.

Ino's bubbling laugh filled the small office space. "NEVER!"

Sakura laughed with her, so happy to see her friend happy like this. It was nice to be friendly rivals again, rather than just rivals.

"MRfhph."

Ino glanced at Kiba and did a small double-take. "What's with him?" She pointed as she looked at Sakura, raising a brow. "You deck him for getting too fresh?"

"Iwsh." Kiba groaned.

"What was that dog-breath?" Sakura glowered over at her boyfriend.

Ino chuckled. "I think he said 'I wish'. So, if he wasn't letting his hands wander where they shouldn't, why's he hurt?"

The pink-haired kunoichi giggled and shook her head, her bright green eyes sparkling. "He was letting his hands wander where they shouldn't! But that's not why he's hurt. Kiba was massaging my feet and he let his hands hit the back of my knees."

Ino's eyes widened. "But you're ticklish there."

"Hw'd you know tfat and I dwon't?" Kiba moaned, blotting his mouth with his sleeve.

"Ew!" Sakura and Ino both groaned, grabbing a box of tissues off the desk and handing it to him. The pink-haired medic pulled a face. "Don't use your sleeve for that! Germs!"

Ino chuckled and shook her head. "Bite your tongue? Don't be such a big baby, it's no big deal."

Kiba opened his mouth and dabbed with the tissues, then glared at them both as he held up the evidence of his bleeding. "You're forgetting summfing." He paused as both kunoichi gave him arch looks. "Fangs."

Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she grabbed his mouth to look for puncture wounds. "Oh Kiba!"

o.o.o.o.o

Temari grinned at Shino as they sat at the table in the restaurant. He shifted again, as if uncomfortable.

"Aw." The Sand kunoichi teased as she sipped her tea. "Not a good fit?"

Shino didn't say a word as he silently glared at her through his dark glasses.

Temari wasn't cowed. "You told me you were wearing them the other night, I'm just making a reality of your words."

The bug-nin sighed and picked up his tea, stiffly he sat and glared at her some more.

The blonde kunoichi caught a flash of color from outside the café and turned to look. "Oh, there's Chouji." She smiled. "The way he looks at Hinata is so inspiring." She teased.

"I'll bet he's not wearing her underwear." Shino ground out between clenched teeth.

Temari smiled and shrugged. "You never know." She teased him some more, giving him a sly glance. "I'll bet they feel good and you just don't want to admit it."

Shino frowned harder at her.

She ignored him as she looked back out the window. "Oh, there's Hinata. Watch as they catch sight of each other, it's the sweetest thing you ever saw. She'll blush and smile and ….oh no."

Shino watched as Hinata stiffened unbearably tight and went pale as she caught sight of Chouji. For his part, the Akimichi stumbled and then took one step backwards. Hinata turned and fled into the crowded market place. Shino sipped his tea and looked over at Temari. "Sweet you said? That didn't look sweet at all."

The blonde frowned deeply. "That doesn't bode well. I wonder what's wrong?"

Shino shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Lace itches." He complained quietly.

"I meant with Hinata and Chouji." Temari first arched an eyebrow and then winked at him. "Finish your tea and we'll head back to my apartment."

"So you can laugh at me in private?" Shino said, wondering again how she'd talked him into trying on a pair of her underpants. She'd said that he'd owed her this, since he'd lied about wearing them the last time.

She leaned forward and brushed the tip of her tongue over her bottom lip, giving him a sensual little smile. "No, so I can strip them off you in private."

Shino drained his tea cup in under two seconds flat.

o.o.o.o.o

"No permanent damage." Sakura pronounced as Ino grinned over at the injured Kiba.

The blonde tutted at him. "Serves you right for letting your hands wander where they shouldn't."

"Like Gaara hasn't done that." Kiba prodded at her, never for a moment considering that the red-headed Kazekage would actually _have _done something like …he paused as he heard Ino's heart rate speed up dramatically and noted the slight flush of color around her ears. "Has he?" He asked incredulously, sitting up straighter.

"No." Ino sputtered in denial as she started to sweat slightly. "Sakura, I'll see you later!" She called as she slid from the room as quickly as she could.

Kiba barked a laugh as his girlfriend stared after the departing blonde, startled. "What was that about?" She asked.

"Ino's been letting Gaara get a bit fresh. Maybe even more than a bit, judging by her reactions." The Inuzuka gave her a crooked grin, then moaned as the motion pulled at his mouth. "That hurts."

Sakura though was caught up on another topic. "No. Not Ino. We have a rule, no sex for three months."

Kiba looked up startled. "What?"

"You heard me." She blushed, looking away.

"But …but Shino has. And you and Temari nearly caught TenTen in the act so to speak." Kiba looked hurt.

Sakura slapped his shoulder. "TenTen …well, yeah. But not Temari."

Kiba rolled his eyes.

"Shino would NOT share that with you." Sakura fumed, glaring at him.

The dog-ninja laughed. "Like he'd have to tell me anything. I have the superior senses you know. Especially scent."

Sakura's green eyes widened as she sat down slowly. "Temari and Shino broke the rules too?"

"And Ino." Kiba grinned mischievously.

"Noooo." Sakura mouthed, though as she thought about it …it did kind of make sense. Little comments here or there, or looks from Ino when discussing Gaara. "You think so?"

"Her heart rate turned into a sledgehammer when I said something about Gaara getting fresh. A very, very FAST sledgehammer." Kiba grinned widely. "And Ino blushed. Ino doesn't blush."

"Wow." Was all Sakura could manage to say. "With Gaara? I know she really cares for him a lot, maybe even loves him like she says she does. But wow."

Kiba leaned across the small desk and waggled his eyebrows at her. "Come on Sakura, everyone else is breaking your little rule. I don't want to be the odd man out."

The pink-haired girl's blush matched a red beet as she pushed him away. "Stop it Kiba. Not yet." She smiled wanly at him as she thought of something. "Besides, you're _not _odd man out. I guarantee Hinata hasn't broken the rules."

Kiba groaned, he had no argument for that.

o.o.o.o.o

**Later that night**

Chouji couldn't sleep. He kept repeating the moment in his mind. The moment when Hinata had actually run from him. Damn it! He'd wanted to propose in his own way! In his own time. THEN let the fathers hash out the details later. It wasn't supposed to be like this. What if Hinata didn't want to marry him? This betrothal may have spoiled everything!

Worse. What if she was being forced to marry him? Chouji wouldn't put it past Hiashi, not that the man hated his daughter, but that he thought he knew what was best for her. He gritted his teeth as he stared up at the ceiling.

Chouji turned and looked at his clock. Three in the morning. He had to leave tomorrow afternoon for a mission. Could he leave Hinata like this? Without hashing things out first? No. No, he couldn't.

Jumping up, he raced to get dressed. He was going to sneak into the Hyuuga compound. He didnt' know how, but he was going to do it. And if Hiashi caught him, tough. And once he was there he was going to find Hin…he turned. What was that 'plinking' sound? Hurrying to his window, he opened the curtain.

Wide pale-lavender eyes stared into his very surprised gaze. Chouji opened the window quickly. "Hinata?" He asked, shocked to the core of his being. What was she doing here?

The long-haired kunoichi slid into his room, wringing her hands. She looked at the clothes he was holding in his hands. "W…were you going somewhere?"

"To see you." He said simply.

"You don't have to." She whispered, pointing her two index fingers together in what he recognized as a sign of supreme distress. It bothered him that she was looking down, and not at him.

"Hinata?" He paused and tossed his clothing on a nearby chair, glad it was winter and he was in heavier sleepwear. It hid many things, like his reaction to seeing her here in his room. Last thing he wanted to do was to scare her away. "I wanted to come see you."

"No." She breathed, barely audible. Chouji leaned forward to hear her as she continued. "No, you don't have to marry me. If you don't want."

His hands grabbed her shoulders and shook her lightly. She looked up startled. "I don't want you to marry me if YOU don't want to do it." He said with great sincerity. "Is your father forcing you into this betrothal?"

"Yes." She said, making his heart shatter before she continued. "But …but I want to … I wanted us to decide. Not them. And ...Oh Chouji! I only want this if YOU want this!"

A sloppy grin covered his face as he pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her. "I most definitely want to, but only if you do."

Hinata's tension melted away in his embrace as she soaked in his warmth. Looking up, she caught him smiling down at her. Without words their lips met and clung. She held him close as they lost themselves in each other.

Finally, Chouji pulled away slightly. He pushed ineffectively against her shoulders. "You'd better leave."

"We're engaged and I love you." She countered, leaning into him again. Once more they fell into each other's kiss.

A moment later, Chouji pushed again. "No, Hinata. I love you too, but you need to go or I won't be able to stop." His eyes pleaded with her to understand. "I'm barely hanging on here as it is."

The kunoichi though smiled and stepped even closer, bringing his head down so she could whisper in his ear. "Then let go. Chouji? I don't want you to stop."

o.o.o.o.o

**Poor Kiba ...he's now odd man out. Hope you enjoyed! REVIEWS are always most welcome. **


	35. Define Romance

Shikamaru looked up, startled as the blue-haired kunoichi slipped up behind him and put her arm through his as he stood in line at the green grocers.

"Hello lover." Yugao smiled becomingly at him, her eyes twinkling as she looked into the basket he was carrying. She pulled a mild face. "Leeks?"

Shikamaru's eyes took in her expression, then he looked around casually. "Is Gai chasing you now? I thought he was still after Shizune."

"And to hide from Gai, whom I like by the way, is the only reason I'd be here with you? Shopping." She gave him a bright smile. "For leeks."

"Which you hate." He guessed.

Yugao nodded. "Good call." She smiled and picked the leeks out of his basket and put them back on the shelf.

"Well, if Gai isn't chasing you, why are you here troubling me?" Shikamaru muttered as he picked the leeks back up and put them in his basket again, drawing a frown from the grocer.

"Troubling you?" Yugao drew up, affronted. Her eyes narrowed dangerously on him, then she flashed him a very dark and wicked grin. "You're not comparing me to those two Suna half-wits you sent scurrying off after the Uchiha, are you?" The last part was drawn out in a painfully threatening manner.

"No, no …of course not." Shikamaru's eyes widened in alarm. Then he paused and stared at her. "Why? It's not like you're after me for the same reason they were. Just what do you want, Yugao?"

The blue-haired kunoichi chuckled, pulled the leeks from his basket and literally tossed them to the green grocer as she pulled Shikamaru away.

"Hey! My mother wanted those, they're on her list." He protested in vain.

Yugao gave him an odd look, her gaze moving up and down, taking in his whole being. Then she quirked a frown in his direction. "You always do what your mother wants?"

"No." The shadow-nin said huffily. "But not getting her the leeks she asked for seems small and petty. Besides, she's scary."

Yugao's eyes sharpened as she leaned in, nearly eye to eye. There was a look in her gaze that had him breaking out into a small sweat. She blew a puff of breath into his face, startling him and making him back up a small step. She grinned. "I'm scarier." She promised.

Shikamaru swallowed nervously and considered his options. But nothing came immediately to mind. The master strategist was left spinning his wheels. He just didn't have enough information to proceed on, so finally he just shook his head at her. "What do you want?" He asked. If he knew what it was she was after, he'd be feeling more sure of himself in this conversation.

"Dinner." Yugao drew out the word slowly, making Shikamaru's heart beat pick up strangely.

But instead of showing her how she made him react, he looked away and acted bored. "Forget the meal, just spill. Tell me what you want from me and we'll go from there." He was sure that she needed something from the Nara clan, he just wasn't sure what she was looking for. Perhaps some of their family herbs and medicines? Maybe some information for an upcoming mission? "You don't have to bribe me with a meal."

Her bright laughter drew looks from all around them. Shikamaru glowered at her.

"No, no and again …no." Yugao smile wide and innocent looking. His eyes narrowed on her. He wasn't buying the act.

"So? What do you really want? I promise to listen." Shikamaru offered, getting irritated at the whole conversation.

"I told you. Dinner." The blue haired kunoichi tutted at him and decided to give him a little more leash. "The way you ditched the Suna fangirls intrigued me. So I asked around about you."

"About me?" Shikamaru's eyes went very wide.

Yugao nodded and pointed directly at him, pushing her finger against his chest until he backed up another step. "I hear you're a slacker. Lazy and can't be bothered. I hear that you'd rather watch clouds than rise in rank. Your dedication is highly in question."

He'd heard all this before and had always dismissed it. But hearing it from Yugao's lips, well …it kind of stung.

"But then …" Yugao sighed and buffed her fingernails before looking up at him. "I hear you're brilliant, a genius, and that when you put your mind to something nothing can stand in your way. That as a leader, you are the epitome of a superb shinobi."

Shikamaru caught his breath, unsure where this was leading.

"So." Yugao linked her arm through his once more. "I've decided to find out for myself."

The shadow-nin sighed and looked at her. "You're going to be troublesome, aren't you?"

"Always and forever." She promised sincerely.

Shikamaru sighed. "Well, where do you want me to take you to eat? Do you have a favorite restaurant?"

"Yes." Yugao grinned. "And that WAS the original plan. But now you're going to take me home to dinner."

He stopped breathing a moment as his mind stalled out. "What?"

"You heard me." Yugao licked her lips and crossed her eyes as she looked at him. "I was going to have you take me out to eat. But you called your mother scary. Now THIS I've got to see. So …dinner with your folks." She said with great relish.

Shikamaru closed his eyes on the delicious nightmare now leading him home. Home without the leeks his mother requested. Home with a kunoichi possibly scarier than any he'd ever met before. Yep. He was screwed.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino checked to make sure she was alone upstairs before pulling her letters out of their hiding place. Smiling, she sniffed the envelopes while reveling in the heady perfume of roses. Roses, that in their private code, meant "I love you."

Lounging on her bed she opened the second letter she'd gotten from Gaara, the one that had arrived only yesterday. The letter she couldn't show to Sakura or anyone else, because they'd never _**get**_ it.

**Dear Ino,**

**Thank you for your letter. The gardeners here will have a hard time growing red carnations, but Suna is in the process of expanding our greenhouses. You are right for suggesting them. However, I am also partial to the white violets you showed me at your shop.**

**Then again, I know nothing of flowers. I can barely tell an orchid from a marigold.**

**I may be in Konoha soon, possibly the first or second week in April. The end of the three month trial period, if I recall. You have a decision to make.**

**Gaara**

Grinning like a schoolgirl, Ino rolled onto her stomach and lightly traced each and every word. It was so adorable how he couldn't come out and tell her of his feelings! He had to couch them in their own personal code. To anyone else, it wouldn't read like the love letter it truly was.

Ino chuckled as she spoke to herself. "You crazy red-head. You never set foot in our shop!" She breathed in deep the scent of roses and mentally deciphered Gaara's letter for the hundredth time today.

"Let's see. I never showed you any white violets." Ino smiled so hard she was sure her face would be sore all week. "White violets mean _**'let's take a chance on happiness'**_. So that means that you want me to keep you as a boyfriend after the three month trial period is over?"

And he'd mentioned her use of red carnations. Which meant that his heart ached for her just as hers did for him. Ino grinned like a madwoman.

"Orchids and marigolds? You sly Kazekage. Like you wouldn't know the difference!" The blonde rolled over again staring at her ceiling as she savored the meanings behind those two flowers. Orchids meant _**'love, beauty, and refinement'**_ while marigolds meant _**'comforts the heart'**_.

Ino giggled to herself. "This brings new meaning to the old 'he loves me, he loves me not' game with daisies!" Suddenly she stopped. Wait. There was something else that orchids meant. Wasn't there?

Surely Gaara had just meant that he found her beautiful and refined, and that he loved her. Right? She dismissed the vague uneasiness, but it refused to go away entirely. Something was niggling at the back of her mind.

Grumping to herself, Ino re-hid her letters and made her way downstairs to the flower shop. The back door didn't have a bell on it to announce her presence, but her mother noticed her and turned anyway. She smiled when she saw her daughter, then cocked her head slightly to the side. "Something the matter, Ino? You've been on top of the world since you got a letter from a certain Kazekage."

Ino shrugged off the question and pulled out a reference book from under the counter. Quickly she flipped to the section on orchids.

Yamanaka Chiyo made sure her customer was busy looking at ribbon choices, then looked over her daughter's shoulder. "Orchids?"

"No, I think daisies." The customer said, mistaking that the shop owner was talking to him. "I think she likes daisies. Sweet and fresh and …and …"

Shocked, Ino's head snapped up as she recognized the voice of the customer. She blushed slightly as he looked up and saw her. "Ossu, Lee." Ino greeted him, ignoring the fact that she was blushing. It wasn't like he could see what she was reading, or could possibly know why. The blonde shut the book decisively and pasted on a smile. "Are these for Matsuri? I'm surprised you didn't choose your trademark lotus blossoms."

"Don't tease the young man." Chiyo chided her daughter as she turned a bright smile on Rock Lee. "Daisies are very sweet and your young lady will be very happy with them."

"No!" Lee drew up straight and tall, his eyes flashing with energy. "I think Matsuri will like the daisies. They are open and beautiful and fresh and they remind me of her!"

Ino nearly melted as she smiled sappily. "Lee, I never knew you could be such a romantic. I'm really happy for the two of you. Are you taking her somewhere special tonight?"

Lee smiled so widely his teeth gleamed. "Yes! I am just back from my mission and after such a long absence, I thought I'd need something different. Flowers for my blushing desert rose!"

Ino sighed dramatically, shaking her head. "You, Gai, and Neji were gone for what … three days?"

"THREE LONG DAYS!" Lee didn't shout, though the windows did rattle a bit alarmingly at the vehemence in his loud voice. "I missed her and I wanted to show her how much I missed her! So I am bringing my lovely Matsuri these flowers!"

Chiyo smiled gently and tried to take the daisies from him before he shook all the petals loose. "Let me just wrap these up in a bouquet for you first."

"And Neji is taking his girl out as well!" Lee continued happily as he watched Ino's mother put a ribbon around his flowers. "He has returned from the depths of undateable despair and is now reaching for the peaks of happiness that can only be found …"

"Yes! Yes, Lee!" Ino interrupted as loudly as she could. "We get it!"

But Lee could not be contained. "And Gai! Gai is in love too! He is in hot pursuit of the star of his heart!"

Ino nearly choked as she bit her tongue from telling Lee that Shizune had looked almost happy with Gai out on a mission.

It took some doing, but finally Chiyo has able to laugh as she leaned against the door of the shop having finally escorted Lee through the exit. "Is he always like that?"

"Yes." Ino grinned, shaking her head. "But he's a good friend to have and a really nice guy too."

"Energetic." Chiyo commented, then quirked an eyebrow at her eldest child. "So. Orchids?" She asked, going back to what Ino had been looking at in the reference book.

Ino sighed and gave up. "If Gaara _did_ happen to mention orchids, what meaning would you give them?"

"They mean love. They could also mean beauty and refinement. Or they could mean a beautiful lady." Ino's mother told her with a soft smile. "They're also the Chinese symbol for 'many children'."

Ino grinned and laughed. "Beautiful lady? I forgot that one! I knew there was one meaning I was missing. I think we can discount the Chinese symbolism though." She said, ashamed of herself for getting all worked up over nothing.

Then again, in his letter hadn't Gaara mentioned that she had an 'important' decision to make? Ino headed back to her room, strange thoughts running through her head. No, no …of course she was being silly. He just meant that she needed to decide if she was going to keep him after the three months were over. That was all.

Ino smiled and grabbed her jacket from her room. It was time to stop brooding and get to the hospital. She had to prove herself to Tsunade, so that this time …this time when Gaara left for Suna, she'd be with him. An exchange where she could serve as a medical kunoichi for a few months. After that, who knew?

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara snarled and the gardeners drew back in fear. Kankuro sighed and put his hand on his brother's forearm. "Nature can't be hurried." He looked at the gardeners and told them with his eyes to back off right now. They did so with great relief, it wasn't easy giving Gaara disappointing news.

The Kazekage stared at the flower beds with their little green shoots. Bare green shoots with some very small buds. But nothing blooming. If his gaze could have burned, the whole greenhouse would have gone up in flames.

"Gaara?" Kankuro asked with some worry. Not for this though, this little spat of temper would fade, just as it had done yesterday, and the day before. No, what had the puppeteer worried was that his brother might find himself devastated if his feelings for Ino weren't returned by the beautiful kunoichi.

"I'm leaving for Konoha in a week and a half." Gaara sighed, letting his temper cool. "I don't want to show up holding PICTURES of flowers. I need the real thing."

Kankuro sighed and shook his head. "We have flowers, lots of flowers." Behind him, the gardeners scattered while trying to look busy.

Gaara shook his head. "They're the wrong flowers." He curled his lip in disgust.

The puppet ninja shrugged and looked around. "Flowers are flowers, just choose something pretty. Those seeds you ordered were hard to find according to the gardeners, at least at this time of year and out here in Suna. Though they said that these cleome seeds tolerate drought well." Kankuro tried a smile. "Which is nice since we live in a desert."

But Gaara wasn't looking for humor. He stared at his brother a moment, then turned and left the greenhouse without another word. Kankuro hurried to keep up. "Are you going to tell me what this is all about?"

"No."

Kankuro sighed. "I thought not."

o.o.o.o.o

Shizune stared at the man standing before her desk, her left eye twitching terribly.

"I am back!" Gai told her, holding up three fingers as he winked at her. "Marry me!"

"No." Shizune sighed and rubbed her temples. "For the last time, no."

Gai growled with frustration as he pulled at his hair, then he breathed deep and thought about it long and hard. Finally he held up five fingers and asked, "Why not? I love you."

Shizune suddenly had had enough. Enough with Gai being everywhere she turned, enough with being hounded and chased. "You do NOT love me!" She screamed in his face, nearly parting his hair with the force of her yell.

Tsunade opened her door and peeked out, saw Gai and waved, then closed the door. Shizune heard the lock on the Hokage's door 'click' for good measure. Her right eye started twitching this time.

Gai grabbed her pen and wrote "I DO TOO!" on a piece of paper and held it up for her to read.

Shizune grabbed it and turned it over with a deep scowl. "Guard rosters are not for love notes!"

The green clad shinobi sighed loudly and emoted his dejection, drawing a heartfelt sigh from Shizune as she watched. "Gai. It's not that I don't like you …" She started, but the moment she'd said that he'd grabbed her hand and started kissing up her forearm to her elbow.

"STOP THAT!" She screamed and yanked her arm out of his reach. "I heard about this. You decided it was time to get married and BOOM, suddenly I'm being chased. Except I wasn't your first choice! I just happen to be thrown to the wolves by Kakashi."

At the name of his rival, Gai's eyes flashed dangerously. But Shizune held up her hand to stop him. "I'm not dating him either. But he's not trying to court me. Just you. For the wrong damned reasons!"

Gai drew back looking startled.

Shizune's eyes flashed furiously as she put her hands on her hips and scolded him like a child. "You can't just wake up one day and decide, hey! I'm going to fall in love today and get married! Love doesn't work that way! You have to court someone. Slowly, you have to get to know each other. YOU CAN'T JUST STALK ME AND EXPECT ME TO FALL IN LOVE!" She finished in a full out roar. "Now go away!"

Gai stood tall and proud as he looked at her, then he bowed low and respectfully. He stood back up and reached out for her hand. With a small flourish he placed a kiss in the palm and nodded. He grabbed the duty roster again, writing something else. Finally he handed it to her, he smiled, bowed again and left.

Shaking after that display of temper, and regretting how harsh she must have sounded, Shizune looked down to read Gai's goodbye. Her eyes widened as she read his words though. He hadn't said goodbye. He'd said he'd pick her up at 7 p.m. tonight! Reading on, Shizune relaxed a moment as she realized that he'd at least half-way listened to her.

**Looking forward to getting to know you, dinner tonight at 7 p.m.**

**Gai**

"Psst."

Shizune turned to look at Tsunade once more peeking through her door. The Hokage took in the lack of broken furniture. "Seems you didn't make it a physical fight."

"I have a date with Gai tonight." Shizune held up the guard duty roster ruefully. "At least he's moved on from marriage proposals to an actual date."

Tsunade frowned and leaned against her door frame. "He asked you for a real date?"

Shizune gave a scoffing little laugh. "No. He basically told me. Still, it's better than the constant marriage proposals."

"Does he know you had a crush on him before all this started?" Tsunade asked gently.

Shizune puffed up like a blow fish and shook her head vehemently in denial. But her deep blush gave her away.

Tsunade chuckled and went back into her office. "Maybe I really should add your name to my betting pool after all."

o.o.o.o.o

Anko scowled down at the sheet full of names. "Why isn't my name on here?"

Kurenai shrugged. "Neither is mine." She mentioned in passing as she ordered a plate of dumplings for herself and Shunin.

"How can you have a betting pool without me and Sai on it?" Anko asked huffily, looking with accusing eyes at her friend.

Kurenai sighed and shook her head. "I just came out to have a snack with my son, can we talk about this later?"

"No." Anko said and grabbed a chair, dragging it over to Kurenai's table.

Sai watched her in silence, then pulled a chair over for himself. "Is this socializing?" He finally asked.

"Yes." Kurenai smiled at him.

"No." Anko assured him, then turned back to the other kunoichi. "I'm deeply appalled to be left off this list."

"No one will bet on you two getting married first." Kurenai said as she straightened Shunin's shirt as the boy tried to squirm out of his seat. "Stop that, young man."

"Pway! Pway!" Shunin begged, turning puppy dog eyes on his mother.

"No play. Play later." Kurenai assured him, settling him down next to her with some crayons and some paper. "Draw while we wait for our dumplings."

Anko watched with wide eyes, taking in the mother and son interactions. "You won't catch me dead being a mother."

Sai turned his head to look at her. "Really?"

Kurenai and Anko ignored him as they continued their conversation. "Anko, you won't even admit that you're dating Sai. So no, no one will bet on you two being the first to tie the knot."

A crayon rolled off the table, but Sai caught it before it could hit the floor. Shunin looked at him and held out his hand imperiously, demanding the return of his crayon. Sai handed the boy back his green crayon, then reached over and snagged the red. With deft strokes he drew a tree on Shunin's paper.

"Twee not wed!" Shunin announced, and began to scribble in green all over the tree.

Sai drew a circle. Shunin looked up, then he drew a circle, though his was more like a corkscrew. Sai drew a square. Shunin attempted a square, but couldn't quite connect the sides.

Kurenai caught sight of what was happening and looked at Anko. The spiky haired jounin watched with amazement, never having figured Sai to be the type to interact with children.

Kurenai cleared her throat and shrugged, returning to her conversation. "Anko, define dating."

Anko stiffened, then nodded. "An engagement to go out socially with another person, often with a romantic interest."

Nodding, Kurenai looked to Sai and then back at Anko. She looked back and forth between the two for a moment, then settled back in her seat. "You're out socially with Sai, yes? And your interest is romantic."

Anko pursed her lips and shook her head. "We're having wild monkey sex, that's all. That's not romantic."

Sai looked up, puzzled. "It's not?"

"Shhh! Don't speak like that in front of Shunin. He's starting to repeat everything." Kurenai held her breath, but the boy was too interested in coloring to pay attention to the adult conversation.

Anko though was looking at Sai, who merely blinked at her. "Fine." She sniffed. "We're dating."

Sai nodded and turned back to coloring with Shunin.

"Happy now?" Anko sneered.

Kurenai nodded. "Though, it would be just like you to bet on yourself and then go get married just for the sake of winning."

Anko shook her head. "No thank you. Not even to win a bet." She stood and pushed her chair in. Sai mirrored her as he nodded goodbye to Kurenai.

"So. What do we do differently now that we're dating?" Sai asked Anko.

Anko grinned and linked her arm through his, pulling him down so she could whisper in his ear. Sai's eyes widened as he listened. "But we do that now." He protested, though he did look eager.

"Hello all." Ibiki said as he approached the group. "Having a party?"

"No, just leaving." Anko assured him as she and Sai took their leave with a jaunty wave from the outrageous kunoichi.

"What was that all about?" Ibiki asked as he pulled out Anko's abandoned chair. "Do you mind if I join you? I decided to take a few minutes out today for a break."

Kurenai smiled at him, shaking her head. "You never take breaks."

"I do when I know there's a beautiful woman out here without me."

"Just any beautiful woman?" She mocked frowned at him.

Ibiki wagged his finger at her. "I'm no green boy to fall for something like that. So, what are we doing today?"

"Wiwld m'nkee sex!" Screamed Shunin, looking up with a grin full of baby teeth.

Kurenai sank down into her seat, her face almost as red as her eyes. Her hands covered her mouth in horror as she stared at her son, who looked strangely triumphant. "Anko." She whispered in despair.

"We'd need to find a babysitter fast." Ibiki, once his initial shock passed, was intrigued. "Still, it sounds like a good idea to me. Nice job Shunin."

Kurenai slapped at him, embarrassed as Ibiki nearly rolled with laughter.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen walked around the corner of the Suna Academy school room, only to feel herself yanked off her feet by invisible chakra strings.

Suddenly she was face to face with a sexy puppeteer in full bunraku gear. "I don't have much time." Kankuro complained as he leaned into her.

TenTen pushed away, complaining. "I don't have time to wipe your make-up off me, I have a class in five minutes."

"I leave for a mission in two."

The weapons kunoichi grabbed him and gave him a huge kiss, then pulled back and looked at him. "Don't come back hurt this time."

Kankuro grinned down at her, pulling her closer. "I won't. That was a fluke."

"Better be." She pushed at him. "How long?"

"Few days at the most." Kankuro shrugged, then sighed as he let her go. "I'm sorry about dinner tonight. I wanted to cook for you."

TenTen grinned and shook her head. "You keep telling me you can cook, I have yet to see the proof."

The puppet user turned serious a moment, holding her hand he turned it over, staring at her palm. "I wanted to ask you something important tonight. Will you …."

TenTen caught her breath, her lungs seizing up. "Not now. When you get back." She nearly pushed him out of the alcove they'd stolen for a few moments privacy.

"But …" Kankuro frowned as she pushed him away.

"I have to go clean up this make-up you left all over me, and you have to get going. Whatever it is, it can wait until you get back."

Kankuro sighed and leaned in for another kiss. "As long as you're already messed up." He explained as he dragged her closer.

TenTen settled into the kiss with a sigh, but at the back of her mind there was still that nugget of panic. Was this it? Had he been about to propose? She'd almost hoped those rings she'd found had been a dream.

Kankuro let her go, giving her a sappy grin. "I'll be back, and it's not make-up it's facial markings for puppeteers."

"I love you." She whispered as he headed out the door.

The puppet master stopped and grinned at her. "I love you too. Remember, we'll talk when I get back."

TenTen's stomach churned with butterflies. Yep. This was it. Now. What was she going to do? Yes? Or No? Which would it be?

o.o.o.o.o

**Announcements! If you want to get in on the BETTNG POOL for this story, there is a new poll on my account. Sorry, no money for the winners! Have to keep this clean people! LOL!**

**And, I'm getting ready to move this month. Internet will be down for a while (I don't actually know how long), I'm hoping not for long. Still, lots and lots to do. I will try my very best to keep updating this month though!**

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Remember, REVIEWS are always welcome. :)**


	36. Dinner Dates

Sakura rolled her eyes for the third time in under fifteen minutes. "Yes, mother." She muttered as she grabbed the proffered bag. She swung the woven grocery bag over one shoulder as she headed out the door. A trip to the store was a poor excuse to escape, though it didn't help when her mother suddenly decided she needed some things too.

"And don't forget to bring back the right kind of rice this time." Haruno Tanshi called out from the kitchen. "The last time the rice wasn't sticky enough and my dessert was ruined. Sweet rice isn't hard to make, but only if you have the right ingredients! Embarrassed me no end to my company, Uhiya never lets a moment pass when she doesn't say something snide about it!"

"Yes mother." Sakura grumbled as she opened the door. Though inner-Sakura was yelling and wondering why her mother hadn't noticed the rice was the wrong kind BEFORE she started cooking her dessert. And why her mother was friends with Uhiya anyway, if she didn't like her in the first place.

Her mother wasn't through yet, though. Tanshi stuck her head out of the kitchen into the hallway, her perfectly coiffed pink hair in stark contrast to her daughter's more casual style. "I do wish you'd take more of an interest in cooking." She said with a sharp frown, having had this argument many times before with her stubborn daughter. "It's such a womanly art. Not like those knives you throw around. No man wants a girl who isn't womanly. Can't you be more feminine?"

"Kunai." Sakura corrected automatically, but without heat. She knew better than to argue the point. In fact, she was fairly certain her mother always seemed to 'forget' the proper word for the staple weapon of ninja just out of spite. "Kiba likes me just fine the way I am." She muttered as she slid out the door.

Tanshi though, would not let her daughter have the last word. She raced to the door, her voice freezing cold to match the weather outside. "That boy is NOT a proper suitor. He has _fangs_ of all things! And what is with those markings on his cheeks? That clan is a menace I tell you! Do you know they bring their dogs with them everywhere they go? It's just not clean! You'll come down with fleas, I promise you!"

Embarrassed, Sakura ignored the few people passing by as she turned to give her mother a hard stare. At least the sun had already set and she couldn't see their faces. "At least I can get a boyfriend, or are you just afraid I'll get married and you'll be left here all alone?"

Tanshi drew up stiffly, drawing in a shocked breath. Sakura didn't usually talk back like this.

Sakura though wasn't done. She grinned widely and winked at her mother with a jaunty air that belied her inner temper. "And I LIKE the fangs, mother. They make kissing Kiba soooo much more exciting!" The pink-haired kunoichi announced to her mother, and the world in general. Though only Tanshi really seemed to be paying any attention.

"We'll talk about this later, young lady!" Tanshi bit the words off harshly as she glared at her only child and closed the door of the house with a hearty and unfeminine slam.

Sakura winced, knowing that she'd pay for her impertinence later. She sighed and let her shoulders slump a bit. It wasn't that she didn't love her mother, she really did. It's just …Tanshi's snide remarks about Kiba were really starting to rankle. She hadn't always been like this, Sakura wondered just when her mother's attitude had started to sour.

"Bad day?" The sympathetic voice startled Sakura, who spun quickly.

"Yeah." The pink-haired kunoichi nodded, relaxing as Ino walked over to join her. She shivered as she pulled her heavy cloak more closely around her. "It's too cold for March, even for nighttime."

Ino shrugged. "This is Konoha remember? Besides, I love snow. I hope it gives us one more good snowfall before winter ends."

"It'll be warmer in Suna, a lot warmer. Probably no snow at all in the desert." Sakura grinned at her blonde friend. "Think you'll be able to handle it?"

Ino grinned and shrugged as she led the way down the street. "Our original three months will be over soon. Gaara said he'd come back, and Tsunade was just making sure that I have real feelings for him. So …My guess is that I'll be heading out to Suna soon and I'll find out pretty darn quickly if I like it there."

"At least you'll have TenTen with you." Sakura nodded as the two girls entered a small café by mutual consent.

Ino pursed her lips as the two girls hung up their heavy woolen cloaks and made their way to an empty table. She waited until they'd ordered some hot tea before continuing. "You think TenTen will stay in Suna?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. Her original contract with them will run out, let's see …mid May? Do you think she likes it there enough to stay longer?"

Ino smiled softly and shook her head. "Wrong question. Do you think she loves Kankuro enough to stay in Suna even if she hates it there?"

Sakura leaned back and drummed the table with her fingertips a moment. "Are we still talking about TenTen? Or you?"

"Guilty." The blonde kunoichi smiled sheepishly. "I do love Konoha, and yet …I love Gaara too. I really, really do. But we've only really been dating a very short time. If we're together a lot, will it stay the same? Will I start to get on his nerves? Once the newness of our relationship wears off, of course."

Surprised, Sakura felt her eyes widening. "What if he gets on your nerves instead? Why assume that he'll be the restless one?"

Ino blushed slightly as she let the waiter set out their order for them, then sighed happily as she took her first sip of tea. "Do they have the same tea brands in Suna?"

"Don't change the subject." The other girl scolded. "What's wrong?"

"Technically?" Ino sighed, "Nothing. Everything is going right. But …Sakura, what if Gaara doesn't like me after I go to Suna for a while?"

"I thought you said he loved you?" Sakura asked breathlessly, appalled at the insecurity in her friend's eyes.

Ino gave a harsh laugh. "He does. Like and love are different. I'm sure he loves me, and I'm doubly sure I love him. But …what if I start to …annoy him? What if I drive him away? Like Sasuke or Shikamaru?"

"First of all, you did not drive Sasuke away. He left for his own reasons." Sakura hissed, annoyed because she'd thought the same thing of herself for a long time.

Ino shook her head. "No, before that. He never really looked at me. I drove him away from _me_, not from Konoha."

"Oh." Sakura took a deep breath and shrugged. "I _still_ say we blame that on him. I mean, he had two gorgeous kunoichi ready and willing to love him and he turned away for his own reasons. I'm not sure he was capable of loving at all. So, no …you can't count that one."

"Tsk, fine." Ino brushed off the argument with a wave of one graceful hand as she frowned. "There's always Shikamaru."

"Nope. You still lose." Sakura smiled sadly. "You chased him, but you didn't chase him away. You caught him! You just didn't know that Temari had caught him already. In fact, if Temari hadn't been in the picture you two might be betrothed by now. Just like Hinata and Chouji."

"Bite your tongue." Ino gave a shudder. "I love Shikamaru, but my feelings for Gaara show me that I'm not IN love with Nara, nor ever really was. He's my friend. Too bad I didn't know the difference until now."

Sakura pulled a face. "You'll be fine in Suna. But I'll miss you around here. Who else understands like you do when I vent about my mother?"

Ino frowned and sighed in sympathy. "I caught the tail end of that. Sorry." Then the blonde leaned in to whisper. "So, tell the truth. How is it kissing a guy with fangs?"

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata hurried through the streets, peering in café windows. Sakura's mother had been very sweet when she explained that her daughter wasn't home. She said she'd seen her meet up with Ino through the window and had guessed the two had gone out for tea.

Looking through one restaurant window assured her that the duo wasn't there, when Hinata suddenly paused. "No." She smiled, turning back to look again. Sure enough, she'd seen what she'd thought she'd seen. "Oh!"

Blushing, she moved onto the next café.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru sank lower in his seat. He'd known this would be troublesome, but he'd had no idea just it would be this bad. Vainly, Shikamaru looked to his father for support, but the older Nara wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Leeks are very healthy for growing children." Yoshino said, still looking upset that her son hadn't come home today with the right things from her list. And she looked none too pleased with what, or who, her son HAD come home with.

Yugao gave a tight-lipped smile. "Potato and olive pie with leeks is not something most children appreciate."

Shikamaru's mother smiled and dished up a second helping onto Yugao's plate, though the kunoichi hadn't finished what she'd already been served. "_Children_," Yoshino stressed, "don't always know what's best for them." She said pointedly, shooting the blue-haired woman a sharp stare.

"Oh?" Yugao asked brightly.

"Yes." Yoshino smiled smugly as she shook out her napkin and took her seat. "Children often bring home strays …" She paused meaningfully, "Oh, I meant to say, _strange_ ideas for eating habits. They'd eat nothing but junk if given a chance. A good parent curbs these impulses and offers more healthy fare."

Shikamaru groaned and wondered vaguely if there was any chance of escape.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata didn't bother with greetings as she finally found Sakura and Ino. Shyness didn't even raise its ugly head in her desperation. "Help me." The purple-haired kunoichi begged as she slid into a chair at their table.

"What's wrong?" Ino looked around, but couldn't see anyone or anything that could cause this kind of reaction.

"There's going to be a parade." Hinata blushed hotly and dropped her head into her hands.

Sakura reached over and tugged on the Hyuuga girl's hair. "What?"

Ino's eyebrows rose as she whistled. "Like a betrothal parade, like the nobles do?"

Hinata nodded, though she didn't raise her head. Her wail of despair was lost in her hands.

The pink-haired girl grinned and shook her head. "They're not common with betrothals in ninja clans, but not unheard of either. Especially with your social standing, and Chouji is his clan's heir after all."

Hinata mumbled something unintelligible, making both the other girls sigh. Ino reached over and grabbed Hinata's hands, pulling them away from her burning red face. "What's so wrong?"

"I'm going to be on displlllaaaaay!" Hinata bit her lower lip to stop her wail from escalating in an embarrassing manner. "Everyone will be staring at me!"

"You're the bride, they're supposed to stare." Ino asked, totally at sea. Being the center of attention was like air to her, necessary for living. She didn't understand the Hyuuga girl's natural reticence. "Is there going to be a huge party after the parade?"

"Yeeesssss!" Moaned a despondent Hinata. "Father already laid out a huge sum for me to go shopping. It's going to be completely traditional, so I have to wear the full kimono and everything." A tear slipped down her soft cheek.

"Ahhh …." Sakura grabbed a napkin and handed it to her friend. "It won't be that bad."

Ino's mind was running at full speed. "Are we invited?"

Hinata nodded, not saying anything even as Sakura kicked the blonde under the table. Giving Ino a look that said 'you're not helping!'

Ino shrugged. "Well, I mean if we're invited, then perhaps we can be there with you. Hold your hand. Sort of like attendants."

Sakura settled back, giving her long-time friend an apologetic smile. "Actually, that's a good idea."

"Oh would you?" Hinata asked breathlessly, hope flaming alive in her chest. "Please?"

Ino deflated a bit. "I should be in Suna by then …", she patted Hinata's hand as the other girl caught her breath. "But I can request to be back for your engagement party, er … parade."

Sakura nodded. "The Hyuuga-Akimichi wedding will be the highlight of the year, trust me. Perhaps we can even get Gaara, Kankuro, and TenTen here too. And Temari should still be around."

Hinata let out her pent-up breath, nodding as she pushed back her long hair behind her ears. "Can you help me pick out the right ensemble?"

Ino's eyes sparked with interest. "Are you kidding?"

Hinata shook her head, a small smile playing around her lips. "Please?"

Sakura groaned as Ino grabbed some extra napkins and started making lists. "You just made Ino's day, trust me."

"Oh!" Hinata smiled shyly, then peered over at Ino. "I think I can do you one better, make your day twice over. Want some prime, juicy news?"

"You're pregnant?" Ino teased in an off-hand manner.

Hinata's hands flew to her belly in shock. "No!" She denied quickly.

Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "Don't do that to her, Ino! You know Hinata is playing by the rules, even if Kiba thinks _you're_ not."

Ino's face flamed and she looked back down at her list intently.

Sakura caught her breath. "So, Kiba was right. You have been playing naughty." She turned to Hinata, nudging her with her shoulder. "I guess that just leaves me and you who haven't broken the 'no sex' rule."

Hinata's face flamed as she looked down at her hands, unable to form a denial especially as she'd be lying.

Sakura stilled, staring at her two friends. "Noooo …." She whispered.

"What?" Ino looked up and caught Sakura staring at Hinata. She took in the absolutely burning red visage of their Hyuuga friend and smiled wildly. "Way to go, Hinata!"

Hinata buried her head in her hands again.

"How could you?" Moaned Sakura. "Either of you!"

"Oh don't be such a prude. Hinata's engaged and I'm sure she waited until then at least." Ino smiled brightly as she defended the two of them. "And I'm in love. And he was leaving."

The purple-haired girl moaned but nodded even as she kept her face hidden from view.

"I'm _not_ a prude." Hissed Sakura as she kicked Ino beneath the table again.

The blonde frowned, rubbing her aching shin. "Stop that. And why are you so upset? This isn't like you."

Sakura groaned and rolled her suddenly tensed neck muscles. "Look, I'm not ready yet. I love him, and yes, I want him. Just …not yet. I don't know, I guess I'll just know when it's right."

"So? That's okay." Ino said, and Hinata lowered her hands to look everywhere but at the two of them even as she nodded in agreement.

"C….Chouji and I are engaged." Hinata finally whispered almost defensively.

Sakura's voice melted as she quickly hugged the purple-haired girl. "You're fine. It's just ….Kiba was a bit miffed about Gaara, Shino, and Kankuro having ...well, you know. And I …well, I was grateful to point out that Hinata was making Chouji wait too."

"How would Kiba know?" Ino huffed. "How did dog-boy know about me and Gaara?"

Hinata though, knew her teammate well. Her eyes widened comically. "He senses things. Heartbeats, smells, sweat. He's very intuitive."

"Yeah." Sakura moaned. "And I don't need him pressuring me right now. Dealing with my mother is bad enough. And Tsunade has me on surgical rotation this month. I … just do me a favor, Hinata? Avoid Kiba for a while? I don't need him getting upset that he's the odd man out on this 'no sex' thing."

"Kiba's not pushy." Hinata defended her friend, then blushed lightly. "Well, yes he is, but he won't pressure you. Well …" She bit her lip as even she realized that yes, Kiba would. "He doesn't mean badly."

Sakura grinned. "I know, and I wouldn't want him any other way. I like it when he puts his hands on me. But if he finds out that every one of our group has been intimate but him, then he's going to be unreasonable."

Hinata blushed again as Ino nodded. "I can't avoid him, he's my teammate." The Hyuuga sighed.

"I know, and I don't want you to lie. Just avoid the discussion. Try not to meet him and Shino after …well, you know." Sakura almost begged.

Hinata shrugged, highly uncomfortable with the discussion. "Look, can we change the subject? Please?"

"Sure." Sakura straightened up, then grinned. "So what were you going to tell us before we got sidetracked?"

The long-haired kunoichi first looked startled then smiled shyly. "Well, you'll never guess who I saw out eating dinner together. In a romantic setting. Gazing into each other's eyes."

"Who?" Ino asked, her interest pricked.

"Gai and Shizune." Hinata whispered, her eyes sparkling merrily.

Two fangirl squeals filled the small café as they hounded the long-haired kunoichi for further details.

o.o.o.o.o

Gai frowned as he perused the wine list. He looked over the menu at Shizune and smiled. "Thank you, lovely blossom, for allowing me more than ten words each hour."

"It's a trial thing." Shizune smiled at him. "And only for dinner. If all goes well, I might consider rescinding the challenge."

He put down the menu, puzzled. "But why? You are like a foreign bloom, full of youth and beauty and yet mysterious. Why would you feel the need to give me such a challenge? NOT, of course, that I would EVER back down from a challenge!" His voice started to rise alarmingly. "Explain this to me, for I am lost! Lost as a sailor upon the vast expanses of the ocean without the loveliest star in the universe to guide him!

Shizune stared at him, saying nothing. He waited, and when she didn't respond he settled back in his chair. "Shizune?"

"Oh, so now you know my name?" She said a bit snippily, looking around the restaurant. "Gai? I thought you gave lessons to Neji on dating?"

"I did!" Gai perked up. "I was very successful in guiding my young student, though not technically my student any longer. Except in the art of romance which …"

"Shut up." She said, not unkindly. "Or I'll put you back on word restrictions."

Gai stopped and looked at her. He grinned, not the least cowed by her words. "Even the loveliest blossoms on the tree of life often carry thorns. The harder to pluck the flower, the more satisfying the …"

"Finish that sentence and I leave." Shizune told him coolly, her eyes showing her temper. Finally she sighed. "Gai, look to your left. What do you see?"

Complying, the Mighty Green Beast of Konoha looked, and smiled brightly. "Neji and his date. The lovely Inuzuka lass." He paused, and eyed Shizune speculatively. "Why?"

"Do you see him standing up and spouting words at her at the top of his voice? Do you see him not letting her speak?"

Gai flushed slightly. "Is that the problem my blooming lotus? That I don't allow you a chance to speak?"

Shizune nodded, then shook her head. "No, look at them. Look at Neji and Hana, what are they doing?"

"Oh!" Gai slapped his forehead as he grabbed her hand. "I apologize! I did not realize that you wanted me to hold your hand like this. I wanted to give you space as you seemed almost skittish up until now!"

"No!" Shizune sighed, pulled on her hand but when he didn't let her go she didn't resist. "Gai? They're talking. She talks, then he talks, then back again. It's called a conversation."

Gai frowned and rubbed his thumb absently over her knuckles in a soft caress. Shizune caught her breath at the sensual feel of it and sighed.

Finally, he looked over the table at her. "I only want to impress you." He said simply.

Her heart skipped a beat as she looked at him. She squeezed his hand and smiled softly. "Gai? Why do you want to see me? Is it merely to beat Kakashi at yet another challenge?"

"No, for even I have noticed the copy ninja does not chase after you." Gai sighed dramatically, though his voice didn't rise this time. "I do not understand why though, for you are a prize beyond measure."

A blush tinted her cheeks as she reminded herself at how important this date was, for if this one failed then she could not afford to risk her heart on another. "And why do you seek to marry me? You don't know me very well at all. And I heard that I was not first on the choice of this challenge anyway."

Gai sighed and looked away, though he did not let go of her hand. He eyed Neji and Hana and shook his head. "Perhaps I should have sought lessons from my own students before beginning this courtship. Perhaps I have allowed my pride to carry me away." Gai stood, pulling her up with him. "If you want me to leave I will! If you want me to climb a mountain for you to show the depths of my regards for you, I will do that too!"

Shizune stopped breathing as he dropped to his knees before her.

"I have hurt you and that was not my intent! Please, please allow me to show you that I value you and your friendship higher than my own pride." Gai begged her as Shizune turned nearly as red as Hinata could.

"Get up!" She hissed, tugging on her hand.

"What would you have of me?" Gai continued unabated. "It is true that at the beginning of the challenge I was focused more on beating my eternal rival. But as I pursued you, I came to realize that you were a gem! A jewel whose beauty rivals that of the sun above us!"

"Get up! Please, get up!" Shizune begged desperately as every eye in the restaurant was now focused on them. "Gai, please! You're embarrassing me!"

Gai stood, but instead of stopping he stared directly into her eyes and captured both of her hands in his. His dark gaze boring deep into her marrow as he spoke. "You have no reason to be embarrassed. You are beauty, strength, and brilliance personified. Until this challenge I never realized just how much you do for this village. Just how much you hold the highest office we have to a standard of excellence. Until I began watching you, I had no idea just how much beauty you hold away from the world, hiding behind papers and schedules."

Shizune started to feel faint.

"I began courting you out of the wrong reasons, yes I will admit to my mistakes as any true man should. A strong man can face his own shortcomings, and then overcome them." Gai stared directly into her eyes, his words writing themselves on her rapidly beating heart. "But I continued this courtship for my own selfish reasons. If I can not have you, then I will have no other. For you have captured the Mighty Green Beast of Konoha and hold him in the palm of your strong, yet delicate hand."

Many oohs and ahhhs filled the restaurant. From their table, Neji watched with wide eyes as Hana wiped a tear from hers. A woman across from them slapped her husband's arm and loudly demanded why he didn't treat _her_ like that!

Shizune? She gasped for a breath, felt her head spin and fell against Gai. He gallantly swept her into his arms and carried her from the restaurant as several patrons stood and clapped, cheering.

Neji groaned and turned back to his own date. Hana grinned at him. "So? Think you can sweep me off my feet, Hyuuga?"

Neji shook his head at her, his lips thin.

She grinned and looked at him coyly. "You do, and we can move on to _advanced_ kissing."

o.o.o.o.o

Yugao looked pointedly around the table, then frowned deliberately.

"Is something the matter?" Yoshino asked, her nose in the air.

"No, no ...of course not." Yugao answered with a small smile. "It's just ...never mind."

Shikamaru was so tense he thought he might break into two pieces. He almost prayed the village would be invaded so that he'd have a good reason to leave the table. Again he looked to his father, and again Shikaku looked away, offering no support. "Coward." Shikamaru muttered.

"What was that, son?" Yoshino asked, her eyes snapping to her only child.

"Nothing." Came the bored response, although the boredom was actually an act at this point. All Shikamaru wanted to do was to leave. Troublesome women. They could have each other.

"Do you have wet cloths? Or a cleansing bowl?" Yugao asked, then clapped her hand over her mouth like she'd made a huge social gaffe. "Oh, I'm sorry. It's just ...I'm used to eating at nice establishments who follow proper etiquette."

Yoshino's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Are you saying that my hostess skills are less than exemplerary?"

"Oh, of course not." Yugao said in a tone of voice that clearly stated that _that_ was exactly what she meant.

Forget invasion, Shikamaru started praying for an earthquake to swallow him whole. Just as long as it swallowed him alone and didn't trap him with these two troublesome women forever. Alone. He shuddered at the very thought.

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto finished his bowl of ramen as he waited for Ayame's shift to end. They were going to the movies tonight. He was fairly bouncing with impatience as he looked at the clock again. "They say that in the previews they'll be showing a first look at the new action blockbuster." He said for nearly the thousandth time.

Ayame giggled and wiped down the ramen counter, she snuck a look at her father and found his attention elsewhere. Grinning she blew Naruto a kiss, sort of a promise for more kisses to come later that evening.

"Ohayo!" Kiba called out as he slid onto one of the stools at the counter.

"Hey!" Naruto grinned at the dog-nin, then smiled down at the nin-dog. "Hey Akamaru!"

The huge white dog 'woofed' in greeting as he settled at Kiba's feet.

"We're going to go see that new movie, they say there's gonna be a killer preview too." Naruto said, grinning so wide his teeth gleamed white even in the darkness. "You and Sakura going too?"

"Not tonight." Kiba pulled a face. "I was supposed to head out with Shino for a mission, nothing special. But our target missed his boat and won't be at the port until next week."

"So why don't ya grab Sakura and come out with us, it'll be fun." Naruto grinned and looked over at Ayame.

The pretty girl smiled and nodded. "We'd enjoy it, really." She'd been wanting to get to know Naruto's friends better and not just as ramen customers. Ayame felt that this was a way to get to know her boyfriend better, knowing his friends and all. She'd known she'd had a crush on him, but now that they were dating she was starting to realize just how wonderful Naruto really was.

"Maybe next time." Kiba sighed, then sneezed.

"Oh! Someone's talking about you." Ayame teased him lightly.

"Probably Sakura." Kiba grinned. "When I found out I'd be free tonight, I went to find her. Her mother was …less than forthcoming, but I was able to track her down. She's hanging with Hinata and Ino right now. Girl stuff, I guess."

Naruto shook his head at Kiba. "Hey, it's not like Sakura knew you'd be able to get a free night. She probably still thinks you've left for your mission."

Kiba grinned. "I know, I left her a note so we can meet up tomorrow. I just didn't want to interrupt, you know? The girls all looked so cozy. They're probably plotting something."

Ayame clucked her tongue at them both. "Hinata and Ino, right? Naruto, didn't you tell me Hinata just got engaged? They're probably discussing wedding stuff."

Kiba pulled a funny face as he laughed. "All the more reason to avoid them tonight!"

Naruto nodded, earning a slight frown from his girlfriend, though she wasn't really upset with him. "Hey! I know!" The blonde snapped his fingers. "Come out with us anyway. It'll be fun."

Kiba nodded gratefully. "Cool."

"What are you two ruffians planning now?" Kakashi said from behind them, even managing to startle the excellent senses of both Kiba and Akamaru. Then placed two 'to go' orders for ramen.

"Just a movie." Naruto chuckled. "Want to come with us? It'll be fun."

Kiba laughed at them, shaking his head. "He can't come with us, he's got work to do."

"Oh?" Kakashi crinkled his visible eye. "And what would that be?"

"Beating Gai." Kiba grinned cheekily just as Ayame set his ramen order down in front of him. "On the way here, I saw him carrying Shizune out of a restaurant."

"Carrying her?" Naruto goggled. Even Kakashi blinked at that one.

Kiba paused as he broke apart his chopsticks. "Not only that, but while I watched them leave Neji came out of the same place, carrying my sister."

Naruto stared at him a moment, then groaned madly. "You're having me on. Damn Kiba, you had me going for a moment."

"Seriously." Kiba grinned and laughed. "I would have checked on Hana, but she was laughing and had her arms around the Hyuuga. Didn't look like she wanted me to interfere."

"Probably not." Kakashi said dryly, smiling beneath his mask. "Dare I say you'll use this information against her at a future time though?" He turned to look out across the street, as if casually.

"Oh, you bet!" Kiba laughed outright.

Suddenly, something caught Naruto's attention. He turned to stare at Kakashi, who in turn, stared back. "What?" The copy ninja asked.

Naruto shook his head, then looked across the street at where Kakashi had been looking. He didn't see …. Hmmmm?

"Here's your order, sir." Ayame said shyly, handing Kakashi his 'to-go' orders.

Naruto turned to watch Kakashi leave, his mind spinning. "Who is Kakashi eating with tonight?"

Kiba shrugged. "I don't know."

"He asked for TWO orders of ramen." Naruto frowned.

Ayame shook her head and shrugged. "You sometimes eat two bowls at dinner."

"That's when I've been training really, really hard or skipped a meal." Naruto mused. He turned to look at Kiba. "I thought he winked at someone across the street."

Kiba shook off the moment, concentrating on his food. Then he stopped, chopsticks in his mouth as his eyes widened. Slowly, he swallowed and turned to Nartuo. "You know, I can always tell who is seeing whom. I can smell it on them. But …with jounin like Kakashi, they can mask even those scents with chakra. I really don't know who he's seeing. I never really thought about it before."

"Wait here." Naruto said before racing across the street. He hadn't seen any hot looking women, but he wanted a closer look. Oh, if he could find out who Kakashi was interested in, oh the bragging rights he would win over Sakura, Sai and even Sasuke! He grinned, but that smile faded as he realized he had no clue.

He stood at the bookseller's right across from the ramen stand and sighed. He turned and saw Iruka browsing the new release section. "Oh! Iruka-sensai?"

"Yes, Naruto?" The man looked up with a smile. "How are you?"

"Oh, I'm good. But …did you see any hot looking women over here?"

Surprised, Iruka looked around and shrugged. "I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention. I thought you had a girlfriend though?"

Naruto blushed slightly. "Oh! Not for me, for someone else." He replied blithely. "I thought I saw Kakashi flirt with someone over here, but I must have been mistaken. Sorry to interrupt! Gotta go!"

Iruka was glad the blonde took off as quickly as he did, and missed the small stain of red on his cheeks as he turned back to the book section.

o.o.o.o.o

Haruno Tanshi stared at the note Kiba had left for her daughter. She was tempted to open it. She was tempted to destroy it. But those actions would be ...wrong.

Yet ...the thought of her daughter stuck with a ninja for the rest of her life made her want to throw up. Oh sure, she'd supported Sakura's decision back at the beginning, but she'd been naive then. Back then Tanshi had not known of all the dangers that went along with a kunoichi way of live.

Oh sure, she'd known that being a ninja wasn't easy. The shinobi and kunoichi were treated with reverence and respect within the village. She'd even wanted that for her daughter when Sakura had first approached her and her husband about the idea.

But then ...then had come that damned invasion from the Sand and Sound villages. Sakura had nearly died. Tanshi's unease with the kunoichi way of life had started then, as she realized how close she'd come to losing her baby. But then, a few years later the Haruno family had suffered a loss. Tanshi's husband had died from a sudden and massive heart attack. Even the best of medical care couldn't save him.

Life changed then. Tanshi sighed as she picked up Kiba's note. Oh how she wished Sakura would give up on being a ninja! She wished heartily that her daughter would become a civilian and marry a local merchant's boy. Then Tanshi could have her with her always, and there would be grandchildren! But ...but as a kunoichi, Sakura could die at any time. Every mission could be her last.

How could she bear it without her baby? It was bad enough to lose her husband, but ...without Sakura what would life be? Tasting the bitter ashes of her actions, Tanshi tore up Kiba's note as she silently apologized to them both. Still. She had a daughter to protect.

And the life of a ninja was no life at all. Tanshi closed her eyes and ignored her own tears. She knew tearing up one note wouldn't stop them from seeing each other. But what if Sakura did manage to live and have a family? With Kiba? Then he died on one of _his_ missions? No, she didn't want her daughter to face the same pain of loss as she had.

Firming her chin, Tanshi stood. She needed to make Sakura see reason and quit this unnatural lifestyle.

But how?

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you liked the chapter! It's a little longer than usual for me, but I'm getting ready for my move this week. Don't know when I'll have a chance to get back on-line. Hopefully by the end of the week, I'm crossing my fingers!**

**As always, I'm addicted to REVIEWS. Please support my addiction. LOL!**


	37. A Watched Flower Never Blooms

Kiba had been in a great mood this morning. Everything was shiny and bright and the weather was starting to give hints of Spring. It was the first week of April and despite the lingering mess of melting snow, warmth was starting to creep into Konoha and disperse what was left of the long winger.

The dog-ninja drew in a deep breath and imagined that he could taste both the cold of one season and the birth of the next. Kiba grinned as he headed out to meet with Sakura.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen felt the displacement of air behind her even as she spun, weaponry at the ready. Blades flew and thunked into wall where Kankuro had just been standing.

From the corner of the room, the puppeteer whistled at the close call. "You missed." He teased, taking his life in his own hands.

"No I didn't." TenTen flashed a grin at him. "I wasn't aiming at you. I hit what I wanted to hit."

Kankuro's own grin grew as he looked back over at the quivering blades in the door. Two of them. Both neatly pinning his Bunraku headgear to the wall by the two 'cat' ears. "What have you got against my puppetry hood?"

TenTen walked over to him and grabbed his real ears, pulling his head down for a long drugging kiss. When she let him come up for air his eyes were glazed over. "I like having handles to hold on to when we kiss."

"I'll find you something better to hold on to." He rasped hoarsely, pulling her closer and leaving no doubt as to how much he'd missed her while out on this latest mission. His mouth found the sensitive part of her neck and TenTen about melted into the floor.

The knock on the door drew curses from them both as they sprang apart. Kankuro took one look at her face and handed her a piece of cloth, making gestures at her. TenTen eyed him and pointed toward the bathroom. "Your make-up is all over us both. You need to clean up as well and since it's my door they're knocking on …."

"Yah, yah." Grumbled the irate puppet user as he went to fix the smears on his face. "And it's NOT make-up!"

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata fairly flew around the corner, clearly in a hurry as she nearly fell over Akamaru.

"Whoa!" Kiba barked, reaching out to catch his teammate but she'd already righted her balance on her own. "In a hurry?" He snarled.

"I'm so sorry!" Hinata nodded before turning to leave, but something about her friend's demeanor had her stopping. "Kiba? Is something the matter?"

The Inuzuka shinobi growled, then let his shoulders slump. "Nah. No big deal. Sakura's mother is playing games again I guess. I don't really think Sakura would stand me up, I think her mother intercepted yet ANOTHER note."

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked hesitantly. "I don't understand how Sakura's mother couldn't like you. You're wonderful."

Kiba's expression softened as he grabbed his smaller teammate for a quick hug. She 'eeped' but then laughed and hugged him back. "Hinata, you are one of a kind. And I guess I owe you big. Sakura told me that it was you that put mine and Shino's names in the mix for the dating thing. You're the best, Hinata."

Never knowing how to take a compliment, the purple-haired kunoichi did as she usually did in such situations. She blushed.

"My day started out soooo great!" Kiba complained loudly, as was his wont. "It's just …Sakura …it's …ah hell, there's just too many secrets. And I'm just out in the cold."

Hinata went stiff. How had he found out about her and Chouji already?…"Kiba! It's not that I was hiding anything from you!" She gushed guiltily. "But Sakura didn't want me to tell you …though why she thought I would in the first place is a ….well!" Hinata flushed furiously. "What I do with …well, it's just none of your business!"

Kiba's eyes went wide as he backed up a step, holding up his hands to fend her off even though she wasn't making a move. "WHOA girl! What are you going on about? I'm just talking about Sakura and her mother. They're in this battle and I'm caught in the middle! Sakura's mom throws out my notes to her and gives her bad messages. Sakura then retaliates by buying the wrong things from the grocers and giving her mother fake notes from her friends. I even think she switched the sugar and salt containers on her mom right before baking day."

He paused as his brain caught up with what she'd been saying as Hinata sputtered and flushed even redder than before, then took off down the street in a big hurry. "Oi! Hinata! What were YOU talking about?" Kiba called after her, scratching his head. "Damn, I wonder what Hinata knows that Sakura doesn't want ME to find out?" He looked down at his nin-dog.

Akamaru 'woofed' and plopped down at his feet, uncaring.

Kiba groaned. "Big help you are." He sighed deeply and then looked back down at the big white dog at his feet. "No use hammering Hinata about this, let's go find the source."

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen opened her door with a bright smile, hoping she'd gotten off all traces of Kankuro's facial markings. Kissing a Suna puppeteer did have it's drawbacks! Especially when they were in full gear. "Good morning! Please don't tell me that I've misread the Academy schedule and that I'm late for a class?"

The Suna shinobi shook his head mutely, and for the life of her TenTen couldn't quite recall his name.

"We have a message for Kankuro." The man said with his thick Suna accent.

TenTen frowned. "Have you tried his apartment?" She asked a bit waspishly.

The guard shook his head. "No." He grinned and looked behind her. "This is important, we didn't have time to waste looking at _his_ place."

TenTen sighed and stepped aside for him. "He just came over to give me a message."

"Of course he did." The guard gave her a small sympathetic look.

Sighing, the Leaf kunoichi knocked on the bathroom and told Kankuro to get out here, he had an important message. So much for trying to keep their relationship discrete. "Does everyone know where …"

The man shook his head quickly at her even as Kankuro entered the room, rubbing a towel over his freshly washed face.

TenTen frowned. The man was obviously lying. Did all of Suna know where Kankuro spent his nights? Damn.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata grimaced at the full-length mirror. "I look like a child's doll."

Ino grinned. "That's the point. Besides, you make a gorgeous doll."

The purple-haired kunoichi frowned and tweaked the line of the heavy silk kimono. "I can't believe I folded like that on Sakura. Do you think Kiba will guess? I'm so awful."

"Don't! You'll ruin the line of the outfit." Ino scolded and swatted at Hinata's hands. "And you're not awful. Sakura can take care of herself, and it's not like you really could keep a secret like that from your own teammate."

"I don't know." Hinata chewed her bottom lip slightly as she sighed. "I should have just kept my mouth shut." She pulled at her obi again. "It's too tight."

"It's fine." Ino assured her. "You look beautiful!"

"I can't breathe!" Hinata said breathily, ignoring her blonde friend as she started pulling more strongly on the obi around her waist. "Get it off me!" She whimpered as she tugged on the expensive silk fabric.

Ino quickly helped Hinata strip out of the kimono, frowning herself now. After she carefully folded the pricy silk away in their boxes, she sighed. "Hinata?"

"I can't wear that." The other girl said softly, though defensively as she pointed a trembling finger at the boxes holding her betrothal outfit.

"Fine. You don't have to." Ino said calmly.

Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief.

"But it'll break Chouji's heart that you don't want to marry him." Ino said in a falsely off-hand manner, peeking at Hinata from the corners of her eyes.

Taking in a sharp breath, Hinata spun to face Ino. "I didn't say that!"

"So, you're going to elope then?" Ino said cheerfully. "Just say the word, Sakura and I will help. I'm sure we can rope in Kiba, though Shino is probably a stickler for the more traditional route."

Hinata's lungs began to ache as she realized suddenly that she was holding her breath. Letting out a deep gasp, she sat down on the bed, her mind whirling with the possibilities. Finally her shoulders slumped. "No. My father would …"

"Tell him to take a hike."

Hinata's pale-lavender eyes went wide, then she giggled suddenly as she envisioned Ino telling off the mighty Hyuuga clan leader. "You could probably do it, but I can't." She admitted, plucking at her dressing robe.

Ino sat down next to Hinata, putting one arm around her for a quick hug. "Either chuck it all and demand a wedding on your own terms, or deal with what you've got. The only other choice is not to get married." The blonde paused a moment before continuing. "Are you sure you want to get married now? You can wait, you know. Chouji would support your decision, I know he would."

Hinata sighed and shook her head. "No." She sat up straighter and reached for the boxes with her betrothal outfit. "No. I need to do this. Not because my father wants it, or even because Chouji's mother is over the moon about all the arrangements. I want to do this for me." She looked over at Ino pleadingly. "I love him."

"I know you do." Ino said softly. "But remember, you're the bride. This is all about you, not everyone else. Promise me, if there is something you feel you really _can't _do …tell them!"

Hinata nodded gamely and stood back up. "I can do this."

"Good." The blonde winked and grinned as she nodded toward her closet. "I've already got a dress for your betrothal party."

"Party?" Hinata wrinkled her nose at Ino playfully as she opened up the other girl's closet. "Call it what it is, a spectacle."

"A ball?"

"An inspection of the bride-to-be by everyone in the village." Hinata said snippily, then caught her breath. "Oh, Ino …it's beautiful!" She came out of the closet holding up the ice-blue gown, carrying it up high so the formal length wouldn't drag on the ground.

"Not as beautiful as yours." Ino grinned, "But I don't want anyone else to look better than me. You can, since it's your betrothal, but no one else!"

Hinata turned to hang the gown back up, then paused as something finally registered. Ino's closet had almost nothing in it. At least nothing hanging up. There were several full travel packs and even some luggage. She turned to the blonde, confused.

Ino blushed very slightly, making Hinata's eyes widen in surprise. She hadn't known the blonde to embarrass easily. "Ino?"

The mind-jutsu specialist just smiled.

Hinata's eyes grew huge as she leaned in to whisper, despite being alone in the closed room. "You're leaving?"

Ino shrugged as if it were unimportant, but the stillness in her eyes gave lie to her actions. Nervously, Ino tucked her long bangs out of her face.

"Do you have permission to go?" Hinata queried breathlessly.

The blonde girl laughed. "I'm not going missing nin if that's what you mean!"

"So, you do have permission to go to Suna." Hinata smiled happily and turned back to the closet to hang up the lovely ball gown.

She completely missed Ino's expression at that moment or she would have realized that she was wrong in her assumptions.

Ino knew she didn't have permission to leave for Suna. And wasn't even 100 percent sure that going to Gaara's village was the right thing to do. She was taking a whole lot for granted, packing like this.

But as she listened vaguely to Hinata apologizing once more for spilling more than she should have to Kiba, Ino reasoned that if she was going to Suna with Gaara …she didn't have to worry about packing as it was already done. And if she didn't go to Suna …well, unpacking was easy enough.

o.o.o.o.o

Pale-jade eyes didn't blink as they stared unmoving upon his target. His will was strong and his gaze had been known to move lesser men to tears. But the current object of his unwavering stare was uncowed, and unmoved …and not a man at all. And more important, it wasn't doing what he wanted.

The men behind him, even though they were not the target of Gaara's hard stare, were not unmoved. Indeed, they were shifting back and forth on their feet noticeably, showing their nervousness. They obviously were not wanting to be there when he finally shifted his gaze back to them.

The door to the greenhouse opened, and caught breaths were exhaled as the people in charge realized that help had arrived at last.

TenTen flashed an apologetic smile at everyone from behind Kankuro. She watched as her boyfriend …she grimaced lightly at the word, even in the privacy of her own mind. He was so much more than that. Her lover? Her …fiancé? No, he'd not asked yet. Still, the vision of those rings he'd had with him wouldn't leave her alone. Pushing those stressful thoughts away, she focused instead on the matter at hand.

Gaara.

Gaara still was creepy at times, at least to her way of thinking. Well, maybe not _creepy_, she amended to herself. Intense. Yeah, that was it. He was merely intense. Steeling her nerves a bit, TenTen stepped forward. Deliberately she took a light tone.

"A watched pot never boils." She told him even as Kankuro made room for her beside him.

Gaara never looked up at her, a long moment later he gave a soft grunt. "I'm not watching a stove."

"Same principle." Kankuro sighed and shook his head slightly. "Gaara, the flower will bloom in its own time. I don't think even you can rush nature. Flowers don't respect offices."

Finally the red-head blinked and looked up at them, a ghost of humor lighting his eyes. "Is that a polite way of saying that plants don't recognize the fact that I'm the Kazekage?"

TenTen gave him a soft smile. "I'm sorry."

Gaara sighed and then rolled his shoulders. "I don't like waiting. And it's almost the end of the first week of April."

Not understanding that reference, TenTen and Kankuro just shot each other a look. Finally, Kankuro stepped forward. "The flowers will bloom in their own time." Was all he could think of to say though.

"They should have flowered already." Gaara sneered, looking over at his gardeners accusingly.

One man swallowed heavily, but gamely stepped forward. "I apologize, Kazekage-domo. We had no idea the nitrate balance was off in the first planting boxes. We're not used to growing non-medicinal plants here." He bowed his head as he made yet another apology.

Gaara sneered and opened his mouth when TenTen took a step before him. She cocked her head to one side and gave him what she hoped was a smile that hid her trepidation. Since she'd been living in Suna for a month or so, she'd gotten to know him a little better. No, that wasn't quite right. She'd gotten more comfortable around him, through her connection with Kankuro. But she doubted anyone outside of his siblings and possibly Baki actually _knew_ Gaara. Well, and maybe Ino.

Thinking of the blond had TenTen's smile turning genuine. "She'll love them."

Gaara narrowed his eyes on her, but didn't pretend not to understand her meaning. "How do you know?" He sighed and looked away. Neither TenTen nor Kankuro could possibly know how Ino would react to THESE particular flowers, as they had no idea of the pair's private flower language.

"She'll love them because they came from you." TenTen continued, unaware of any meaning behind the flowers themselves.

He nodded, but looked back toward the buds on the green stalks. Being a private person, and unused to sharing information, he just couldn't bring himself to confide in the leggy brunette. Or his own brother. This …this was _too_ personal.

"How about joining us for a late breakfast? My next class isn't for an hour." TenTen offered hesitantly, unsure of herself. Gaara didn't generally join them as a couple, he tended to meet with Kankuro without her around. After a few weeks she realized it wasn't because he didn't like her, but that he felt awkward in social situations that had nothing to do with the politics of his office.

Kankuro shot her a grateful look and reached out for her hand. He liked that she was trying to reach out to his brother.

Surprising them all, Gaara nodded and said yes.

"Great!" The puppeteer said happily, then remembered that he'd wanted to ask TenTen his important question this morning. Still, that could wait until tonight. Right?

o.o.o.o.o

**I know the chapter is rather shorter than usual, sorry! I'm still in the middle of moving, but the big stuff is done. I still have some boxes to move and to clean the old place up. Yuck. And I'm sitting in the middle of a TON of boxes to unpack ...but I just felt the burning need to UPDATE! Even though I went to the dentist today and my jaw is sooo painful. And I locked myself out of my house. Yep. But just as I was about to call a locksmith (because I haven't given out spare keys yet), a friend of mine drove up with her husband (a cop!). He got me back into the house! Prayers work even before you pray them sometimes!**

**What all this boils down to is ...wow, what a day! LOL!**

**REVIEWS might help me forget about my trip to the dentist. Maybe. It's worth a try anyway!**


	38. Questions Asked

"This isn't the eel I asked for! It's tuna!" Haruno Tanshi sighed as she stared at the open package laid out on her countertop. "It's not even high grade tuna."

Sakura smirked as she almost swept from the small kitchen. "You know what they say, if you want it done right …go shopping yourself!"

Tanshi rolled her eyes at her only child. "That's a very bad paraphrase. Something you'd have known if you'd gone to a REAL school instead of that silly ninja training place."

"The Academy?" Sakura turned with a painted on smile. "You mean the jewel in the crown of Konoha? The source of our safety, wealth and prestige? The place that trained our very own Hokage?"

Tanshi sighed heavily and re-wrapped the tuna. "Take this back and get me the eel I asked for."

"No."

The older pink-haired woman spun around, shock on her face as she stared at her daughter. "What did you say?"

Sakura lost the grin and stepped forward earnestly. "Mother, you know I have a date with Kiba, we're meeting in about ten minutes. You waited deliberately until the last moment to send me across the entire village to get this eel that just HAD to come from the farthest market. Don't tell me it wasn't on purpose to make me late."

"I don't appreciate you talking to me like that." Tanshi sniffed, admitting nothing. "Is this uncivilized tongue what comes from ninja training?"

"No, it comes from being _your _daughter." Snapped the irate kunoichi. "I'm running late, I'll see you later."

The knock on the door startled them both slightly as Kiba stalked into the kitchen.

Tanshi sneered slightly and sniffed, as if smelling something awful. "I see you have no manners either."

"I knocked." He growled.

"You didn't wait for us to answer the door." Tanshi pointed out as if such niceties were new information for him to learn. She turned to her daughter with a waspish look. "See what comes of ninja training?"

"Ninja training assures us that we can get into a house regardless of doors, locks, or guards." Kiba sighed. "And the only reason I didn't wait was that I wasn't sure Sakura would be here and I knew you would not answer the door for me."

"Well, such uncouth manners are just what I would expect…."

Kiba snarled and interrupted, startling Tanshi no end. "I have been on my best behavior for you. But I'm sure that the note that I sent Sakura this morning about changing the time we meet went …shall we say … a little astray?" He smiled cheekily at her. "Misappropriating notes meant for other people is far ruder than anything I've done to you."

Sakura's eyes went wide. "Mother?" She asked, staring at the other woman in some shock. "You promised not to interfere!"

"And so I won't! But I don't have to stand here in my own kitchen and be attacked like this." Tanshi sniffed haughtily and swept out of the room.

Sakura's shoulders slumped. "I'm so sorry she seems to be putting you in the middle of everything, Kiba."

The dog-ninja blew it off with a wave of his hand. "Stop apologizing for something you have no control over. I still say you need to sit down and talk it out with her."

"Oh, that is so not a good idea." Sakura blew a loose strand of hair out of her face. "So what's with the change in meeting times? I thought we were going to the movies this afternoon."

"I heard from Naruto and Ayame that the movie sucked. That it wasn't worth it at all." Kiba shrugged. "So I thought we could head out to the port town and look for a dress for Hinata's engagement party."

Sakura's smile bloomed and she nearly giggled. "Are you sure you didn't catch that fever going around town? I thought I just heard you volunteer to take me shopping."

"Yah, yah." Kiba groused. "I ran into Hinata earlier and seeing her made me think of it. By the way, have you noticed her acting strange lately?"

"Strange?" Sakura caught her breath. Did he know? Had he guessed?

But Kiba was already moving on. "I thought of it only because you keep talking about how awful the shops are here and how you wanted to check out the port town's market place. And I thought that while we were there we could maybe make a night of it. Dinner. Dancing." He paused and grinned at her. "Get a room?"

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen watched in fascination at this new side to her boyfriend. She leaned over and whispered to the red-head sitting beside her. "He told me he could cook, but I thought he just meant he could boil a basic egg."

Turning his pale-jade eyes on the brunette kunoichi, Gaara pondered her words a moment. Then he simply asked, "Why?"

TenTen shrugged lightly as she watched items flying effortlessly through the kitchen area, cream pouring slowly into a small bowl of eggs that was being stirred methodically. All while thick bread slices were being buttered for the oven and vegetables were being expertly diced for the omelets. Kankuro stood in the middle of the kitchen, only his fingers moving ever so slightly as he orchestrated the dance of ingredients and utensils around him.

Finally she just shook her head in awe. "Most shinobi I know can do basic survival cooking, but other than that …they eat out or assume the kunoichi should cook."

Gaara looked back at his brother, then over at TenTen again. "Why?" He asked once more.

She blinked at him slowly, then smiled. "Can you cook?"

Sitting back, the Kazekage shook his head lightly.

"Can Baki?" TenTen asked, naming the sibling's former sensei.

Gaara pulled a face as he thought of Baki's culinary skills …or lack thereof. "No."

"Now." TenTen smiled. "Can Temari cook?"

Gaara thought about it a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Though she's nowhere as good as Kankuro. We always make him do all the cooking. It's a part of basic puppeteer training, he's good at it."

TenTen nodded. "But in the Leaf village we don't have puppet ninja. So I had no clue it was part of his early training. So …it surprises me."

The red-head thought that over carefully, looking at it from all sides before giving a soft grunt. "A good surprise?" He finally asked quietly.

The scent of cooking food wafted over them, making the brunette's mouth water. "Oh yeah!"

Suddenly there were more cabinets opening and things were flying faster. TenTen watched with appreciation as Gaara's eyes got bigger. One side of his mouth twitched into a ghost of an almost-smile. "He's looking to impress you now."

"Oh?"

Gaara pointed to one side of the kitchen where a sack of flour was sitting. Flour scooped out and landed on a small board as it was moving into a small mound while an egg broke over the top of it. The chakra strings Kankuro were using were invisible, but the results weren't. "He doesn't make biscuits for just anyone you know." His own mouth started to water.

That's why it was such a disappointment when the messenger arrived to tell the Kazekage that a delegation from the Earth Country were demanding he see them right away. Gaara actually looked disappointed.

Sighing happily, TenTen unfolded her napkin. "More for me." She teased, feeling bold as she peeked at the nearly stoic looking Gaara.

Startled, Gaara turned to stare at her a moment. The guard delivering the message drew in a sharp breath as he waited for the reaction, not that the Kazekage would act as he had when he'd still been a demon vessel. Still, only his siblings ever really teased him. No one else ever dared.

Even Kankuro paused a moment to throw her an unreadable look. She grinned up at him, then turned back to frown lightly at Gaara. "If you're lucky I'll save you a biscuit. But then again, I am feeling rather hungry today."

Gaara held back a moment, nonplussed. His mind raced for an appropriate light retort. Threats filled his mind, but …he was looking for something like Kankuro and Temari would say to each other …not any actual threats. Finally, his voice a bit gruff, he spoke up. "If you don't save me three biscuits, I'll have you named private tutor for the Raichikaru triplets."

TenTen mock shuddered and pulled back in an act of fear that made Kankuro grin and the guard relax. "Save me from those students and I'll even throw in some jam."

The red-head nodded a bit stiffly, though he felt more at ease finally. "Make it strawberry jam and we have a deal. And some sausage."

The kunoichi frowned and looked over at Kankuro, who was back cooking with a vengeance and pretending not to listen. "He's not making sausage."

"If he knows what's good for him …" Gaara's lips quirked into a small smile, a real one this time. "…he will." Threatening TenTen had seemed wrong and heavy handed, but with Kankuro? With his brother threats were just natural.

Where no one could see his face, Kankuro was grinning from ear to ear even as he sent chakra strings into the icebox for some sausage.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke sat in the hot bath, relaxing. He sighed in pleasure at the solitude, even in the public baths. It was the only place to elude the Suna fangirls. After that first disasterous day, they'd refrained from entering the male bath house at least.

The sound of someone entering the bath reached him as he frowned. He should have sensed a chakra signature before anyone got close enough to make a sound.

Kakashi smiled at him through his mask even as he divested himself of his robe and slipped into the hot water with a small sigh of his own.

Silence fell back over the area, but Sasuke was no longer as at ease as he'd been. Though it didn't show in any line, motion, or expression. Finally, he couldn't take it much longer. "Long day?"

Kakashi grunted, but didn't pick up the conversational gambit.

Once more the only sound was the hissing of steam and lapping of the water as it bubbled around them.

Sasuke grunted and slid lower into the water. "They took me off the genin team. The Hokage gave the team to Gai and put me and Tsume together for some missions."

Kakashi's grunt was noncommittal.

"Am I still at 3 honor points?" Sasuke finally asked point-blank, tired of this game.

The copy-nin shrugged. "What have you done to earn more?"

Sasuke's expression turned dour as he stared at his former sensei. "I'm assuming that three 'B' ranked missions and two 'A' ranked ones with Tsume don't count? The Hokage thought we'd done well."

"Those are your duties, and I'll admit that your performance so far has Tsunade and Tsume tentatively happy." Kakashi allowed with a small smile beneath his mask. "Do you want a point for them? Like a puppy begging for a treat?"

Silence once more fell over them, this time with Sasuke glowering. "So, what do I have to do …"

"You get ten points for not killing the fangirls." Kakashi interrupted calmly, his voice cutting through Sasuke's emo mood.

The Uchiha settled back and nodded, then had to go for more. "It should be ten apiece. So twenty honor points."

"No." Kakashi stated simply.

"They're driving me crazy."

"In their defense, a lot of people in this village think you were crazy to begin with." Kakashi yawned lazily as the hot water lapped around his lanky form.

Sasuke nodded absently, not really caring one way or the other. "I found one in my shower the other morning. She'd tied her own sister up and left her in their apartment in order to lay in wait for me in my own bathroom."

"Really?" Kakashi opened his one visible eye, interest finally showing on his face.

Sasuke grunted, glad that the copy-nin was finally starting to see his side of it.

"Which girl?" Kakashi asked with open curiosity. "That shows initiative. Maybe there's hope for one of them at least."

Growling, the younger shinobi made as if to get out of the bath. But Kakashi's next words stopped him cold.

"You came back for a wife. Pick one of the fangirls and marry her." The copy ninja pierced him with one look from his visible eye. "Hinata is off limits. No other high-bred kunoichi will have you as I'm sure you've discovered by now. So …why not marry one of the fangirls? Didn't you say you didn't care who it was? You just wanted a family and a return to the village."

His mouth suddenly dry, Sasuke just shook his head mutely.

"Why not?" Kakashi asked, still in that irritatingly calm voice of his that made it sound like he was making fun of you and only you couldn't see it.

Sasuke threw out the first excuse that came to mind. "They're from Suna, not Konoha. I want to settle here. Not out in the desert."

"I'm sure Gaara wouldn't mind parting with one or both of them. Take your pick." Kakashi smiled blandly. "Which one strikes your fancy more?"

"Hinata."

Kakashi's smile faded as he looked at his former student. "Want to lose every point you've managed to gain so far? And not a little blood as well?"

"I've given up on her." Sasuke admitted. "Still, she's what I want."

The copy-ninja nodded as he asked a question. "Is it she herself you want? Or what is it about her that draws you? And don't give me any romantic drivel, because I won't believe you."

Sasuke nodded. "She's highly placed from a well known and respected clan. If I marry her and join the Hyuuga family main branch, not a lesser branch mind you, then Konoha will see one of their best bloodlines take me in."

"Making them forget your betrayal?"

Shrugging, Sasuke continued. "No, but perhaps taking a little of the sting of my past away. Not to mention that she's quiet. Doesn't follow me around and act like a fangirl. She's pretty. She's well off …and well endowed. She'd make a perfect wife."

"For Akimichi, I agree."

Frowning, Sasuke looked away. "I've already sworn to you to lay off of courting her. I'll keep to that promise."

"Good." Grunted Kakashi, appeased for the moment as he settled back into the heated water with a long drawn out sigh of pleasure.

"So. I now have thirteen points?" Sasuke asked as he got out of the bath water, toweling off.

"Fourteen." Kakashi said, never even bothering to open his eyes as he sunk lower into the water. "You got one just for catching that stupid cat with your genin team three times and not losing your temper." He shuddered at the thought.

A smile finally played along Sasuke's lips as he nodded. "Fourteen out of one million. I'm off to a grand start."

"Don't blow it now." Kakashi grinned, once more opening one eye to look at his former student as Sasuke prepared to leave. "And don't give up on finding a girl. If you won't take a fangirl off Gaara's hands, why don't you take the qualities you're looking for and make a list? Take a look around and see if anyone besides Hinata fits the bill."

"I have to get rid of those twittering Suna girls first." Groused Sasuke.

"Non-lethally." Kakashi said with a wide smile. "Or you'll go into the negative number with those honor points."

"Non-lethal? How disappointing." Sasuke smirked as he exited.

o.o.o.o.o

"So." Sakura sighed as her heart beat picked up. "You found out."

Kiba's ears perked up. _Found out? Found out what?_ He wondered if this was what Hinata had meant earlier. Well, he was willing to play along.

"You haven't answered my question yet." He pointed out. "And of course I know." He lied smoothly.

"It's _because_ you know that you even asked the question about getting a room." Sakura snapped at him, her nerves already frayed from the run-in with her mother. "And no, I'm not ready yet. Just because everyone else is breaking the rules doesn't mean I'm there yet!"

Kiba groaned and shut his eyes. "The fact that I want to be alone with you has nothing to do with anyone else and …wait! WHAT? Everyone? HINATA? Nooooo…."

Sakura stopped cold, her eyes closing in disgust with herself. "You didn't know." She muttered under her breath as she slowly hung her head.

"Wow. Hinata? Really?" Kiba felt shocked to his marrow as he thought about it. "Way to go Chouji!" He grinned, then realized that Sakura wasn't sharing his feelings on the matter. "Sakura?"

"Just because you're 'odd man out' doesn't mean that I'm automatically ready to sleep with you. No sex." Sakura's head shot up as she bit off each word.

"What did you say?" Tanshi asked, her face pale as she re-entered the kitchen. "No. No, and no! This ends here and now. This young man is no longer welcome in this house, or in your life!"

"You can't tell me how to live my life!" Sakura shouted, her nerves rubbed completely raw by this time. "If I want to have sex with Kiba I will!"

The slap stunned them both into silence as Tanshi stared at her daughter's slightly reddened cheek and her own open palm. It was obvious she'd never hit her daughter before in her life.

"Come on Kiba, I'm about to make your wildest dreams come true!" Sakura said but not to her boyfriend. Her eyes never left her mothers gaze. "We're going to have the hottest, wildest sex imagineable!"

"Over my dead body young lady!" Tanshi yelled, red in the face and her eyes bulging with temper and something closer to despair.

The sound of a breaking dish startled them both into silence as they both turned to stare at a fuming Kiba.

o.o.o.o.o

"This is utterly delicious." TenTen's eyes closed in nearly orgasmic pleasure as she ate her fluffy omelet filled with her favorite vegetables. "If I'd known you could cook like this I would have kidnapped you years ago."

Kankuro grinned as he sipped his orange juice. "I would have squeezed fresh oranges for you, but they're hard to come by in Suna."

"I'm fine." TenTen flashed him a burning look. "Better than fine."

The puppet user nodded and took a deep breath. It was now or never, and she was in a great mood. "TenTen? I …I have something important to discuss with you. Ask you, actually."

The brunette kunoichi coughed and sputtered painfully as she suddenly swallowed wrong and the eggs tried to go down into her lungs instead of her stomach.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke locked the door behind him as he shut out the voices of his two constant companions. He needed a way to get rid of them.

Briefly he considered asking Shikamaru for help, since the shadow nin had been so successful in getting rid of them in the first place. But his pride wouldn't let him bend so low as to seek help. Not from Nara anyway.

Contemplating the fangirls was depressing, so he turned his mind to another concern as he made his way to the kitchen. Nothing in there but some old left-overs from a local café that looked like mold was taking over. He sighed and shut the icebox door.

He'd go get something to eat later. After Harumi and Suzue finally gave up and left. He didn't want to have to deal with them at dinner.

"Marry one of those nitwits?" He groused to himself. "Kakashi, you are so full of it."

Still, Kakashi had a valid point. The girls who would look his way he didn't want to marry and the ones that he'd entertain the thought of marriage with wouldn't look at him. Or they're families wouldn't let them.

Sasuke went to turn on some music as he contemplated Hyuuga Hanabi's advice. She may only be a genin, but she was a sharp one that was for sure. He grinned as he remembered how she'd tortured him in the hospital.

But Hanabi was right. He didn't _need_ to look at carrying off Hinata. A marriage seal was the perfect solution to marrying where he wanted. How odd that a genin would think of it before he did. Still, as a member of a clan with a specific bloodline limit, she was more used to thinking in those terms. His clan had one too, but he was the only one left so he could be excused for not coming up with the idea of a marriage seal.

Hanabi.

She was everything that Hinata was, only better. They were both strong, but Hanabi wasn't quite as retiring and shy. Sasuke snorted. Okay, Hanabi wasn't shy at all!

Suddenly Sasuke stiffened. Hanabi was everything on his list. Everything. Well, except for quiet.

His eyes narrowed as he contemplated the new thought. Hmmmm …..

o.o.o.o.o

Out on the practice field, Hyuuga Hanabi sneezed twice.

Gai frowned at her. "Catching a cold my new student? No! The best way to fight off a cold is to get stronger! Thirty more laps around the field for everyone!"

Open groans met his words.

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen finally managed to push Kankuro's hands away as he tried to help her dislodge the food caught in her throat. Tears filled her eyes as she grabbed her water glass and fairly chugged down the liquid. Finally, she nodded and wiped her eyes. "I'm fine."

"You sure?" Kankuro nodded as he watched her catch her breath and start to breathe normally again.

"No, I'm fine. Really." TenTen assured him as she smiled, but on the inside she was panicking. Here it was. The marriage proposal. THE MARRIAGE PROPOSAL! The words rung like a tolling bell in her head. What was she going to do? What was she going to say?

Kankuro caught one of her hands in his as he looked at her, settling down in his seat next to hers. "TenTen? I was …well …you've probably noticed that most of the Suna ninja have figured out that we're more than just dating."

Her dark eyes were huge and some of the moisture in them wasn't from almost choking, but from the emotion she saw reflected in his eyes. The love she saw in his eyes. For her.

Suddenly, her doubts faded away. Putting her hand gently over his lips she smiled softly at him. "I know where you're going with this." TenTen assured him. "And …and … my answer is yes. Yes!"

Surprise and joy lit Kankuro's eyes as he smiled at her and kissed the tips of each finger. "Really? You mean that?"

"We're not fooling anyone and we might as well be honest about how we feel about each other." TenTen sighed happily, waiting for him to pull out the rings. Her breath caught as he let her go to run over to his cloak, pulling something out.

She smiled, ready to be wowed by the rings he didn't know she'd already seen. They'd not been what she would have picked out, but still …it was so sweet of ….him …to …. She stared down at the object in his hand.

Her mind shut down.

"I really think moving in together is a great idea. Everyone has already guessed that we're intimate, so it's not like we're … TenTen?" His voice stalled out as he caught sight of her lack of expression. "TenTen?"

The brunette kunoichi reached out and picked up the apartment key, turning it over and over in her hands. "What happened to the rings?" She thought to herself, not realizing she'd spoken aloud until she saw Kankuro's shocked expression.

"TenTen? Did you …I mean …"

She blushed beet red and would have escaped if he hadn't chosen that moment to wrap her up in his chakra strings. "TenTen …you must have …" He groaned and closed his eyes. "The night I came back hurt."

She nodded mutely.

Kankuro bit his lip and shook his head. "Those were for Gaara."

"You can't marry your brother." She said, then winced at how stupid and inane she sounded.

"No, Gaara had them designed for Ino." Then it was his turn to wince as she screamed in his ear.

"INO?!" TenTen goggled at him, then broke out in a grin. "Really? Gaara had them … he's going to ask … oh wow!"

Kankuro smiled sadly. "I just hope she's ready for this. I mean, they've not been dating long or anything. But Gaara isn't much of one for delayed gratification. What he wants, he goes after. It makes him a great Kazekage, but can lead to trouble in other areas."

TenTen wiped away a new tear as she clutched the key in her hand. "So, we're moving in together?"

Kankuro grinned and shook his head. "No."

"But ...but ..." TenTen held up the key to his apartment. "You just gave me this."

"And I'm taking it back." He kissed her nose as he tried unsuccessfully to pry her fist open to retrieve his key.

TenTen snarled at him and her expression turned mulish. "Why do you want your key back?"

"Because we're getting married instead."

Her smile faded as she eyed him. "But you weren't going to ask me to marry you. You just wanted to move in together."

"I changed my mind." He grinned evilly at her.

"What? When?"

Kankuro shrugged. "You thought I was going to ask you to marry me."

"So?" She demanded.

"So … you said yes." He chuckled as he grabbed her and hauled her to her feet for a long kiss. "You said YES!"

o.o.o.o.o

"That was part of a set, young man and you …"

Tanshi didn't even get a chance to finish that thought when Kiba howled long and hard, drowning out both women. At his feet, Akamaru dropped down to his belly and hid his eyes with his large paws.

Sakura stared at Kiba wide eyed as she caught sight of an expression she'd never seen on his face except in battle. He was beyond furious.

"YOU!" Kiba screamed pointing at Tanshi. "I have been nothing but nice and considerate to you. Hell, I even brought you flowers! I've never even done that for MY mother. But you made up your mind about me simply based on the fact that I'm a shinobi and never took the chance to get to know me."

"Kiba?" Sakura started, then stepped back as he turned his furious glare on her.

"YOU! How dare you hide things from me! Did you think that I'd turn unreasonable if I found out about Chouji? Push you for more than you were willing to give?" Kiba snarled at her. "_Do you think so little of me?_"

"Don't talk to my child like …"

He spun on Tanshi with a quickness that had her yelping. "YOU! You're acting like the child, not Sakura. Hiding or destroying our notes or misplacing messages? Those are things school children do, not adults!"

Tanshi swallowed hard as she looked at the raging mad Inuzuka. She flinched at the sight of his fangs, but then realized she didn't fear him using them on her. Not really.

"Calm down, Kiba." Sakura tried again, holding out her hands for him.

He ignored her gesture as he rounded on her instead. "And YOU! Offering to have sex with me just to spite your mother?! How do you think that makes me feel? Are you going out with me just to get back at her?" Kiba growled and Akamaru whined as Sakura drew in a shocked breath.

"Exactly!" Tanshi nodded, crossing her arms.

"And YOU!" He pointed a finger at Sakura's mother as his gaze narrowed once more on her. "Pushing Sakura to be anything but what she wants most! She is a KUNOICHI of the Konoha village. She is a student to one of the legendary Sannin! She is the most beautiful, most talented, strongest, and generous person I have ever met!"

"Oh Kiba." Sakura melted at his words, her insides turning all hot and gooey.

"And YOU!" Kiba turned his gaze and his finger on her, making her yelp too. "Treating your mother as if she has no opinion! Playing tricks on her like some petty toddler! That is NO way to treat an elder with respect! Can't you see that she's just scared to lose you? That she just wants you to be safe?!"

Tanshi swallowed hard and looked over at a suddenly shame-faced Sakura.

"And YOU!" Kiba turned back to Tanshi with a vengeance. "I'm not going away! I am marrying your daughter. I am a shinobi and she will be far safer with me as a husband than with some meek shop owner."

"Kiba!" Sakura looked shocked.

"And YOU!" Once more Kiba turned his glare on the pink-haired kunoichi. "I've had enough of you! I love you, but I'm damned well sick and tired of being caught between you and your mother. If you want to keep me around, you better settle down and make nice."

"Or what?" Sakura demanded, crossing her arms as she shot him a glare of her own.

"Or we're through." Kiba growled as she drew in a shocked breath.

"Can we all just settle down now?" Tanshi asked almost meekly.

"And YOU!" Kiba turned on the elder Haruno once more. "You're not getting rid of me so easily. And if you have ANY hope of ever being a part of your grandchildren's lives you'd better shape up too!"

"Grandchildren." Both Haruno women looked stunned.

Kiba looked back and forth between the two pink-haired ladies and nodded. "And that's all I have to say about that." He made a motion for his nin-dog to follow and stalked from the house.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Reviews are always welcome! **

**And guess what? Somone (one of YOU) nominated my story for a fanfiction award! That really took me by surprise. The link will be posted on my account if you're interested. THANKS!**


	39. Feeling Exposed

"What?" She asked with the knife edge of temper behind her voice.

Shino shrugged and looked away. "You look nice." He said blandly.

Temari nearly growled as she slipped her arm through his. "Just nice?" She baited him as she cut her eyes to the side to stare at him as they walked down the street.

The Aburame heir grunted softly. "Beautiful."

"It's not a compliment if I have to fish for it." She complained lightly, barely mollified by the obvious sincerity in his voice.

Shino turned his head to look at her, the late afternoon sun glinting off his trademark sunglasses. He looked down at her dress one more time, his mouth going dry. "I like the ….color."

Noting the pause, Temari grinned. "Only the color? Not the …" She paused deliberately before continuing. "Fabric?"

Shino flashed a quick smile, then turned back to watch the crowd as some youngsters nearly plowed into them. "Well, to be truthful, it's not the _fabric_ that catches my attention."

"It had better be the girl IN the dress, and not the dress itself …" The blonde teased the bug ninja playfully, leaning into him to bump his hip with her own despite being in public. He stiffened a bit, unused to displays where they could be observed. "Shinooo?"

He turned to look at her and sighed. "You'll be cold later."

Temari looked down at herself, frowning. "It's a bit cool, but not cold. The leggings are good enough." She quirked an eyebrow at him, "Although they are a bit …sheer."

"I noticed." Was his wry response as Shino's eyes slid down her svelte form, lingering on the said item of clothing. And the legs they showed off. "A cold front is moving in and will chill us down shortly."

Temari frowned and flicked her fingers on her rather shortened skirt. "Not according to the weather reports."

Shino gave a small grunt and shook his head. "The kikai are rarely wrong and from their agitation, I'd say we're due for another cold snap. Today."

The Sand kunoichi sighed and looked up at the sky in exasperation. "Will winter never end?" Taking a deep breath she looked over at her boyfriend. "The weapons maker I want to visit is not far outside the port town. Do you think I should go change?"

Shino looked down at her outfit and gave a small, but rather evil smile. "For myself, I'd say no. But …you will be cold."

Temari stepped into him, crowding his space as she pressed her lips a hair's breadth from his ear. "You could keep me warm."

Ignoring those around them, Shino drew her into a shallow alley between two shops. In the dim light he nipped at her proffered lips. He growled low and mean. "We don't have to go over there today." He said, his hands drawing her closer.

The blonde kunoichi shivered from the heat he was generating deep inside her her very marrow. "I have plenty of weapons." She melted into his embrace happily before pulling away moments later, more than a little breathless. "Are you wearing them?"

Shino grimaced, but nodded. "The lace isn't itching as much anymore." He said, referring to her underpants that she still insisted he wear when out with her. He flatly refused to wear them at any other time.

"You must be getting used to them." She teased, leading him out of the alleyway before turning toward her small apartment.

"Heaven forbid." He muttered, although he didn't slow down in his own eagerness to be alone with his blonde wind princess.

"So." She turned to face him at her door, blocking the way. "Do you want me to take them off of you?"

Shino nodded.

"Slowly?"

He started to turn red as he reached for the door knob. She swatted his hand away. "Impatient?"

Shino nodded and growled low.

Temari laughed. "For that I'll take them off of you …with my teeth."

Shino swayed as she grinned at him and unlocked the door.

"Aburame-sama!" The high nasally voice was like fingernails down a chalkboard. Shino bristled and went still as a statue, even as Temari let a few choice words escape her.

The duo turned to face the young genin frantically waving a note at him. "I have a message for you!"

Shino sighed and tried to rein in his ire beneath his legendary stoic expression. Steeling himself, he stepped forward to take the message from the beaming genin messenger.

Both he and Temari held their breaths as he opened the message after tipping the youngster. Maybe it wasn't important. Maybe it didn't mean that he had to leave right now. Maybe it …

"I have to go." He growled low, his voice raspy as he crumpled up the missive as if it were a dire enemy.

Behind him, Temari kicked the door hard enough to rattle it on its hinges.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba didn't acknowledge his sister as he stomped into the Inuzuka main house, throwing himself down with a whimper on the futon.

Hana barely raised an eyebrow as she studied the dog's foot over by the family room hearth. The huge nin-dog raised her other paw and hid her eyes as the Inuzuka heir poked and prodded at the injury. "Oh, don't be such a baby." The pretty young veterinarian chided as she reached for some witch hazel.

Kiba glanced over at where she was working. "You have an office for that." He growled as he watched. "And that's barely a scratch."

Hana chucked the paper tape at him. "Make yourself useful. And since you didn't catch it, I was telling _**you**_ not to be such a big baby. Not this girl. Besides, it's not a scratch it's a rather nasty puncture wound."

The shaggy nin-dog 'woofed' in agreement.

"Oh." Kiba sighed and pulled off some tape strips, used to helping out with the care of wounded ninja dogs. In a house like theirs, taking care of their canine companions often came before taking care of your own self. He handed her the supplies she needed as they were called for until the final wrapping was in place. "Nice job."

"As usual." Hana gave him a cheeky grin, then sighed as she looked at him. "But as for what ails you, I don't think a bandage will cover it."

Kiba pulled a face. "I'm fine."

"You look miserable. And Akamaru has been hiding in the front hall peeking around the corner at you." Hana quirked her head to one side, studying her baby brother a long moment. "What gives? Trouble in pink paradise?"

o.o.o.o.o

"We can't just get married!" TenTen protested, almost ready to cry. "You're not listening to me!"

Kankuro looked up at her with a devilish grin. "I stopped hearing anything you said past 'yes'." He admitted.

TenTen threw four senbon at him. They thunked into the table between each of his fingers, including the thumb. She scowled and narrowed her eyes threateningly.

The puppet ninja looked down at the slender and very sharp needle-weapons so close to his flesh and grinned. "Going after my weapons as a puppeteer?" He asked, waving his agile fingers at her. "You know that didn't scare me, it only turned me on." He gave her a comical leer and waggled his eyebrows at her.

"Big deal." She snarked and crossed her arms and her eyes as she wrinkled her nose at him. "Everything turns you on."

"Everything about _**you**_ does." Kankuro whistled. "Do that face again."

"Kankuro, it's not that I won't marry you, I just want to wait a while." TenTen groused, wanting to bang her head against a stone wall. Or better yet, bang his head against the wall. Stubborn ass.

"You said yes." The large puppet master frowned at her. "You can't change your mind now. We've only been engaged about an hour. Just think about how pitiful that will make me look in front of all of Suna. I'll be the laughing stock of the whole village."

TenTen plucked one of the senbon out of the table top and started to inspect the tip to make sure it was still sharp. "That argument won't work, no one in Suna knows we're engaged yet."

Kankuro crowed and slammed his hand on the table, startling her. She looked up to see him grinning again.

"What now?" TenTen frowned over at him.

"And I quote – 'no one in Suna knows we're engaged yet'." Kankuro reached over and ran his finger down her nose to her lips. "You just said we're engaged! That means you've said yes twice now!"

"ARGH!"

o.o.o.o.o

Hearing the knock on the door, Temari in an uncustomary move ran to open the door before checking to see who was there.

Matsuri's smile faded as Temari actually made a face at her. "Not who you were expecting, huh?"

"No, no …come in." The blonde kunoichi said ungraciously, leaving the door open and heading back into her small kitchen. "Tea?"

"No thank you." Matsuri stood a bit timidly at the edge of the kitchen, watching the other girl.

Temari nodded and reached for the tea kettle. "It's not doing much for me today either." She poured a cup and looked over at the younger kunoichi. "Something wrong?"

"No, no." Matsuri held up both hands negatively, waving off the concern. "It's not that."

"What? You want me to write Gaara and ask that you stay longer than you originally agreed to with the Leaf Academy?"

"Oh no." The darker-haired young woman denied. "Nothing like that."

Temari raised an eyebrow. "You want to go home now?"

"NO!" Matsuri's eyes widened.

Chuckling, Temari took a sip of her tea before continuing. "I hate guessing games. So spill."

She hemmed and cleared her throat, before looking down at her toes as if they were really interesting all of a sudden. "I got a letter from Baki. Unofficial like." Matsuri slowly admitted.

Choking on her tea, Temari coughed and sputtered. Reaching for a paper towel, she glared at the other girl. "What?" For the life of her, Temari could not think of a single good reason for her former sensei to write Matsuri.

"Maybe I will take that cup of tea after all." Matsuri said with an embarrassed look on her face.

"So." Temari put her tea down, crossed her arms and gave the other girl a long stare. "I don't think it was invasion orders on the Leaf village. Soooo …what is it? A mission that you and I have to leave for? No biggie. We're ninja. This is what we do. Just as long as it's not a mission here in Konoha and we should be good."

Matsuri blushed lightly and shook her head.

"Not a mission then." Temari frowned sharply. "Just tell me, okay?"

"Baki wants my opinion on whether or not you're going to marry the Aburame and stay in the Leaf village." The younger kunoichi finally got it all out in a rush.

Temari didn't answer, for a moment she just couldn't. Not with the sheer surprise and audacity of the question. "Why is it any of his business? Why isn't Gaara asking?"

Matsuri hunched her shoulders a bit, and a glint of silver glistened around her neck. But Temari didn't really take notice, her focus was on much more important matters. "Who the hell does he think he is?!"

"A member of the council." Matsuri almost whispered, then winced. Her voice strengthened as she remembered that she too was a ninja and no longer a child or a student. "He states the council is asking unofficially, wanting to get a feel for things possibly in the future. Baki just wants an opinion."

Temari settled down a bit as she watched the other kunoichi. "He didn't tell you to ask me, did he?"

Matsuri shook her head, indicating that indeed Baki had not told her to simply ask Temari outright. "I thought you'd want the heads up. And as he stated several times in his letter that this was an 'unofficial' request. Since it's NOT a mission, then it didn't need to be taken under the strict rules of mission rules ...so I decided to ask you straight out."

"You're on thin ground with that one." Temari sighed. "But I appreciate the warning. Though you could have just told him the truth."

A smile suddenly bloomed on Matsuri's face as the girl shrugged. "What truth? That I have no clue what's going on with you and Shino? One minute you're inseparable, the next you're ignoring him, then you're spatting, then you're together, then you're teasing, then ….I don't know."

Temari sighed and gave a tired chuckle. "Actually, I don't know either."

"See, if you don't know …then how am I to know?" Matsuri leaned against a kitchen counter, finally starting to relax.

The blonde wind kunoichi shrugged and rolled her tensed shoulders, trying to relax. "What about you and Lee? Is no one worried about you two getting married?"

"You're the Kazekage's sister, and the daughter of the former one as well." Matsuri bit her lip and shook her head, her eyes sparkling. "It's you they want to know about. I'm not important enough to worry over like that."

"Gaara would disagree." Temari tutted. "He may not have been in favor of your fangirl days, but he does care for you."

"As a student." Matsuri stated matter-of-factly, wondering at the lack of sting she felt at the thought. "I think I'm finally okay with that."

"Lee's a good guy."

Matsuri nodded absently. "Yes he is. At first, I just wanted to get to know the man that the Kazekage had so much respect for. I'd already met Naruto and I wanted to meet Lee. I really didn't have any romantic notions about it. Just wanted to get out from under Ino's way while she and Gaara got to know each other better."

"You're one in a million, Matsuri." Temari smiled at her. "Not every fangirl would have stepped aside like that."

"First of all, I object to the term 'fangirl'." Matsuri winced. "I admire Gaara, and had aspirations of being the one for him. But then seeing how Gaara reacted to Ino, I just knew he'd never look at me that way."

Temari sighed deeply and nodded. "I hope you're right. That's what I thought too, but I was worried it just might be wishful thinking on my part."

"No, there's something between them alright."

Temari nodded, hoping they were both right. "Ino seems really taken with him." She said slowly. "I …Gaara's romantic history is spotted with women out to use him, or as a trophy, or some such. Heaven help us all, I think Ino is good for him. She's savvy enough to deal with all the politics, but she's not so hard that she can't love him for who he is."

"Anyway, the thing is …I wasn't really expecting to fall for Lee." Matsuri looked away, then looked back with a small grin. Something sparkled around her neck, drawing attention. "But maybe you _could_ put a good word for me sticking around Konoha for another term at the Academy when this one is over?"

Temari laughed, feeling better suddenly. "I will." She promised, then pointed. "That is, if you'll show me what you have around your neck."

Matsuri grinned widely and pulled out a silver chain with a small silver rose dangling on the end. "This old thing?"

The blonde bit back a laugh. "A present from a certain green-clad shinobi? And I don't mean Gai or you may have to face off against Shizune. She's been looking positively happy this last week."

"SHE looks happy? Have you SEEN Gai? Or _**heard **_him??" Matsuri laughed outright.

o.o.o.o.o

"No."

Tsunade's eyes snapped over to the Aburame heir. "That wasn't a request, jounin."

Shino shifted uncomfortably where he stood. "I can take the medicine orally."

"No, you can't. It doesn't work like that." The Hokage stared at him a moment, then shook her head. "You have a mission in a few days. It's roughly in the same area as our mysterious visitor with the even stranger fever. This is just a precaution. Kiba and Hinata will have to do it too. And I'm also sending Kurenai." She held up the needle. "Now drop your pants."

"No." Shino refused the order, and to refused to meet her eyes as he did so. Temari's lace underpants had never felt so uncomfortable as they did at this very moment.

o.o.o.o.o

"So." Hana tried not to laugh as she poured a small cup for her brother and handed it to him. "Here."

Kiba whined and sniffed at it suspiciously. "I thought you were going to make tea, this is sake."

"From what you've been telling me, you need something stronger than tea." Hana ruffled his hair from behind the futon before coming around to sit beside him. "So."

"Yeah."

"Are you engaged or broken up? I'm confused."

"Me too." Kiba leaned his head back on the futon, ignoring the sake. So Hana reached over for the cup and drained it herself. "Hey." He complained without heat. "That was mine."

"I'm going to have pink-haired nephews. I think every Inuzuka needs to get roaring drunk right as they realize that." Hana toasted him with her empty cup, but didn't refill it.

Kiba winced and shook his head. "I may have just broken up with Sakura."

"Or you could have just proposed."

"Excuse me? What?" Tsume entered the room with a stack of bills, frowning as she sorted them. "Who proposed? I didn't think the Hyuuga would be so quick off the mark."

Kiba laughed and then moaned as he sank down into his seat.

Hana grinned and tossed her baby brother into the lion's mouth without a qualm. "Kiba just got engaged."

Tsume stopped still, turned her stare on him and growled. "Without checking with your clan leader first?"

Kiba gulped nervously. "It just came out. I was yelling …and then …"

"You _yelled_ your proposal at the girl?" Tsume bit back a smile as her expression softened. "You are your father's son I guess."

Hana sat up straight, her curiosity piqued. "What was that?"

"It just brings back memories, that's all." Tsume laughed. "Your father was in the middle of yelling at me when he proposed. It was either kill him or fu …er, marry him." She amended at the last second.

"Really?" Hana laughed and shook her finger at her mother. "I never knew that."

Tsume smiled and shrugged. "A mother's prerogative."

"But Kiba might have broken up with Sakura too." Hana pointed at the furious looking Kiba. "He did both in the same argument."

"Now that's new." Tsume whistled. "I think Sakura could grow on me, she's got spunk. But if you broke up with her it won't break my heart. That way I won't have to deal with her bitch of a mother about the wedding contracts."

The nin-dog by the hearth snapped her head up and 'woofed' loudly.

Tsume grinned. "No, you're right. She's not worthy of the word 'bitch'. I stand corrected."

Kiba groaned and hid his face behind one of the cushions on the futon. "You're not helping!"

Hana laughed and gave him a shove, nearly knocking him on the floor.

"And to think I didn't tell mother about Neji carrying you from the restaurant not too long ago." Kiba snapped at his sister. "And just _where_ did he carry you? It seems to me that you told us all at breakfast the next morning that you'd been out on a vet emergency. All night long."

Hana glared at him as Tsume's eyes moved from Kiba to stare at her eldest child. "Oh really?"

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara stopped cold in the doorway, staring.

TenTen turned just as he started to step back. She sighed and let her frown fall away. "Baki just called him away." She explained as she finished cleaning up the dishes.

Gaara nodded and started to turn away again.

"Is he always so damned stubborn?"

The red-head stopped, and shrugged. "I don't know." He admitted. "I didn't really get to know him until after the invasion of Konoha."

"But he's your brother." TenTen protested, then caught her breath in understanding. "Oh." She nodded, looking apologetic. "The Sand demon."

Gaara nodded, then shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe. Shukaku ate away at my personality, but we were infused together. I don't know where his influence began and where my real feelings started."

Surprised, TenTen nodded.

Gaara though, looked a bit startled as well.

"What is it?" She asked him, almost gently.

The red-headed Kazekage sighed. "I don't know why I just told you that." He admitted, feeling at a loss. Why had he shared that with her? He barely knew the leggy brunette that had his brother all hot and bothered.

"Maybe because we'll be family soon." She said almost bitterly.

Jade-pale eyes widened as he stared at her. "He already asked you? I thought he was going to wait until this summer at least."

"He was?" She asked, a bit taken aback by the information.

Gaara shrugged. "Kankuro said he didn't think you were ready yet. He thought that he'd give you time to get to know Suna. And let us …grow on you." Pausing, Gaara shook his head slightly. "I think he meant letting _**me**_ grow on you. People sometimes find me unsettling. Especially those who met or have heard about me before the demon was removed."

TenTen smiled and shook her head at him, only lying a little. "You're not unsettling."

Gaara stared at her.

TenTen's smile wilted a bit around the edges. "Well, not as much as you used to be."

o.o.o.o.o

Kikai buzzed around the area, responding to Shino's emotions as he stood steadfast in the face of an angry Hokage.

"Why not?" She asked him, her face inches from his.

Shino didn't respond, but he did tense up. The kikai buzzed louder.

Backing off, Tsunade rubbed her eyes wearily. "This is not an option. I'm not sending you unprotected into that area of the country. If there is an epidemic I need to know. If there is someone like Kabuto breeding illness for warfare, I need to know. If it's absolutely nothing, I STILL NEED TO KNOW! That's why it's a mission, damn it!"

A knock on the Hokage's door made the blonde scowl until Shizune stuck her head inside, then ushered in Kurenai.

Tsunade frowned sharply at them, then her face cleared. "Did Shizune explain the necessity of this mission?"

The pretty genjutsu user nodded and rubbed her ass. "She didn't say the shot would sting so much."

"He's refusing the shot!" Tsunade pointed at Shino.

Everyone turned to stare at him, but Shino didn't look away. "It's not a refusal, I can come back in a few minutes and get the shot. Or I can have someone else do it at home."

Shizune nodded. "I wouldn't want her on the other end of a needle either."

Tsunade drew up, affronted. "I am a first class medic!"

"And not known for being gentle with a needle." Kurenai laughed. "Jiraiya told this story once, of this time in the swamps …"

"Never mind." Tsunade grumbled, then looked out the window for a moment, saddened by the memory. Everyone kept quiet and let her have the moment. "Fine. Take the syringe. But I want this done today."

Shino bowed his head gratefully, taking the needle from her with great care. He and Kurenai walked out together, heading out of the Hokage tower.

She waited until they were a block away before she stopped him and gave him a wry grin. "You're not scared of needles, so what gives?"

Shino sealed his lips and shook his head mutely.

"Do you want me to do the honors?"

Shino shook his head, sweat dripping down the back of his neck despite the cold weather moving in that he'd predicted earlier.

"Well. Someone's going to have to do it for you." Kurenai shook her head. "Whatever your reason, it had better be a good one."

Underneath his clothing, the lace pricked at his skin. Shino nodded. "It is."

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro blinked, then rubbed his eyes. He looked outside, but decided that he was in the right place. He looked back inside.

"Very funny, get in here." TenTen yanked him inside by his collar. "Tell us what you think."

Gaara refused to meet his brother's eyes.

"What did you do to him?" Kankuro whispered, feeling stunned.

TenTen shrugged. "It's just a trim. Maybe a little product. It's the same hair style, just …more defined. I do this for my brothers back at home."

Kankuro nodded, then looked down. "You polished his boots."

"He polished them, but I taught him how." She said blithely, putting away the deadly sharp shears and razor that she'd used to trim Gaara's hair.

"You let her near your neck with those?" Kankuro asked with wide eyes, then stopped, coughing. "You polished your own boots?"

Sand tendrils wrapped warningly around the puppeteer's ankles giving a slight tug. Kankuro held onto his balance, barely, as he held up his hands in surrender. All the while he was fighting not to smile.

Gaara stiffly stood, ready to leave. Escape really. His eyes clearly told Kankuro that he owed him for putting up with this.

Kankuro nodded, then stopped. Again with the staring. "Those pants are awfully tight." He said, staring at the black slacks that hugged the red-head's body.

"He's hot." TenTen commented.

"I feel hot." Gaara complained, fanning his face. "These pants are some I outgrew a few years ago. I'm sweating and they don't fit anymore."

"Yes they do." TenTen grinned at him.

"Not that kind of hot." Kankuro muttered, then flashed a grin of his own. "I don't think I'm comfortable with you finding my baby brother 'hot' though." He told TenTen with a mock growl.

"I'm going to go change." Gaara muttered as he walked out the door uncomfortably.

"Thank you." The puppet ninja said, walking over to TenTen and wrapping his arms around her.

"He didn't like it." She said, snuggling closer to him.

"He let you near him, that's close to a miracle in and of itself." Kankuro sniffed, drawing in her scent. "Gaara approves of you."

TenTen looked into his eyes. "How can you tell? He seems so awkward around me."

Kankuro grinned. "You're not covered in sand for one thing. And for another, you got sharp items hear his skin."

"I think he was wearing sand armor." She admitted to him.

The puppet ninja shrugged. "It's still a start. Welcome to the family."

"I haven't said I'd marry you." TenTen pinched him, but he refused to let go.

"Yes you did. Twice." He reminded her without mercy. "We're just in negotiations for the 'when' we'll get married."

o.o.o.o.o

Shino walked into the Aburame compound and headed toward the main house. He was still a bit miffed to find Temari's note that she'd gone off with Matsuri. He'd been counting on her to give him this damned shot.

He now had less than an hour to pack for the mission and …

"Son."

Shino stopped and nodded to his father. "Sir." He started for the stairs.

Shibi stepped in front of his son, crossing his arms. "I hear you had a run in with the Hokage this afternoon?"

"No." Shino said, stepping to the left.

Shibi stepped in front of him again. "Refused an injection?"

Shino sighed and held up the syringe. "I'll let you give it to me, just let me head upstairs first." He didn't add the reason why.

"Is your leg still unhealed? Is that the reason you didn't want to drop your pants for the Hokage?" Shibi asked point blank. "You told me you'd been cleared as ready for missions."

"I am." Shino sighed. "Just give me a moment and I'll be down in your study. You can inject me with that then."

Shibi shook his head. "I know you. What's wrong? You're not shy. You've never refused medical treatment when it's necessary. And a shot like this doesn't invade the Aburame privacy with the kikai. It would not have divulged any clan secrets for you to have just let Tsunade have her way."

"Give me one moment and …"

"No." Shibi interrupted. "I want an explanation."

"And I'm not giving one." Shino slid past his father smoothly and hurried to his room. Locking his door, he stripped out of his pants and divested himself of the offending underpants Temari had been making him wear. They'd already caused him enough trouble today.

Redressing, Shino packed for his mission before opening his door. His father was lounging against the wall, waiting for him.

"You can give me the shot now." Shino sighed.

Shibi stared at his son a long moment. "Purple lace? With flowers?"

Startled, Shino sighed then nodded. "You used your kikai to spy against me?"

"You left me little choice." Shibi admitted, his lips twitching. "You were acting strangely."

"It's Temari's fault." Shino said mulishly.

Shibi nodded. "I certainly hoped that was the case. Otherwise I'd be worried." He walked into his son's room, closing the door. "And if you were wearing what I think you were wearing, you two are closer than I thought."

Shino didn't answer, nor did he meet his father's gaze.

Shibi actually smiled. "Your mother will be thrilled."

The son started, then coughed. "You're not going to tell her, are you?"

But Shibi just shook his head. "No, not yet. Maybe on your first anniversary."

Shino thought that over, then shook his head. "I'm not comfortable with that. I don't want anyone to know."

Shibi coughed and shrugged. "Too late for that. You're just lucky it's me and not the Hokage."

Nodding, the younger bug ninja hefted his travel pack. "I need to go."

"You're forgetting something." Shibi reminded him, then held up the syringe.

Shino sighed and turned around, dropping his pants.

Shibi shook his head at the antics of youth and stuck his son with no semblance of being gentle.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba buckled his pants and thanked the Hokage. "I'm ready to go, I packed the moment I got your message." He didn't add he'd been grateful to get the mission in order to get away from his mother and sister.

"I'm glad _someone_ is being compliant today." Tsunade mumbled under her breath.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura looked crestfallen as she stared at the large nin-dog.

Kuromaru blinked his one good eye at her. "Tsume's tied up with Hana right now. But I do know that Kiba's not around. He and Akamaru left just about twenty minutes ago."

"Thank you." Sakura said, it not even fazing her to be talking to a dog. A dog who could talk back. That was the Inuzuka clan for you.

The pink haired kunoichi turned away as the dog bumped the door shut with his back foot. Sakura sighed and wondered if she'd taken too long to cry and hash it out with her mother.

Where had Kiba gone? More important, where did they stand with each other?

o.o.o.o.o

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed this last chapter. I have to say it was the single most reviewed chapter I've ever written. I wondered how in the world I'd move on with the story and top that last chapter. Then I decided that I wasn't even going to try. I'm just finishing the story as I'd originally planned. I hope you enjoy! And as always, REVIEWS are welcome!**

**I'm adding this late. But CheeseMaiden has done me a HUGE honor and made a youtube video for this story! If you want to check it out (and please do, I laughed so much!) a link is on my account page. I love it!**


	40. The Art of Giving

"Grounded?" Neji looked confused. "What's that?"

Hana laughed and walked out from behind her desk to grab his hand. "It means we can't be seen having lunch today."

"You're on restricted rations?" Neji's eyes widened. "Just because we cut out for a night?" And what a night it had been too. His heart-rate started to pick up just at the memory.

The Inuzuka heir, eschewing her cloak, led the long-haired shinobi out into the sunny but cool daylight. "You really don't know what it is to be grounded?" She winced at him. "I forgot, you lost your parents rather early. But didn't Hiashi ever 'ground' you for breaking the rules or something?"

Neji merely shook his head. "After my father ...well, after he died I avoided Hiashi. Couldn't stand to look at him or anything. I thought he hated me too, but now ...well, I think I just reminded him too much of his brother so he avoided me too."

"But what about when you were bad, or got into trouble?" Hana asked, seriously wondering as she looked over at her companion. She still couldn't believe that she was dating the young Hyuuga prodigy. Who'd ever have guessed that?! And her mother grounding her? At her age? Too hilarious!

But Neji was shaking his head again, at least until Hana yanked him into the shadows. "Remember, avoid being seen together."

"We're ninja, surely we can handle that." Neji said rather stiffly. "And I've never gotten into trouble."

Hana blinked at him owlishly. "First, that's sad. Really, really sad." She grinned madly at him. "And second? That's something I'm going to have to change."

Neji jerked slightly in surprise when Hana then tugged him back out into the sunlight. Walking boldly beside him and holding his hand. He glanced over at the gorgeous kunoichi at his side. "I thought you wanted to avoid being seen. What are you up to?"

"Getting you in trouble." She snapped her teeth at him as she grinned. "Well, me actually. But it'll be a growth experience for you too. Think of it as a present."

"This is all very odd." Neji commented dryly. Though he didn't think it was a bad thing. After all, here he was with a wonderful woman, Spring had started finally, and everything was nearly perfect in his opinion.

o.o.o.o.o

"Six months." She said, with both a stubborn look and a dangerous glint in her dark eyes.

"Six hours?" He teased her, not really meaning it as he cut up the apple into slices. Silently he offered her one slice as he relaxed into the overstuffed chair.

TenTen crunched appreciatively into the apple with a nod, but not giving in one inch. "I'm not getting married before six months." She said with an air of finality.

Kankuro laughed and picked up another slice of apple. "I'll go as high as six days. We can head out for the temple after supper to make arrangements."

The apple slice he was bringing to his lips suddenly sprouted three senbon. Kankuro blinked at his food with the wicked looking ninja needles now sticking out of it. He cut his eyes to her and pretend cowered. "Six minutes?"

TenTen sighed and crossed her arms as her foot beat a tattoo into the flooring. "You want to get married in six minutes?"

Kankuro tossed the apple slice away and grabbed her, pulling her in tight. "Oh no, I've moved on in the discussion. The moment you pulled out the weapons as a matter of fact."

She fought her grin even as she fought his hands, pushing them away from her rear end as she tried vainly to elbow him. "Then what do you want to do for six minutes? As if I can't guess?"

The puppeteer leered at her and his hands weren't a bit deterred as they resumed their roaming. "Oh no, I'll need a LOT longer than six minutes. No, that's just the time I'll need to convince you to come upstairs with me."

TenTen laughed and set about making him work for his victory.

o.o.o.o.o

"What about this?" The blond held up a leather belt.

Ayame bit her bottom lip to keep from smiling, but shook her head. "I don't think father wants frogs painted on his belt."

Naruto looked at the belt longingly as he reluctantly put it back down. He picked up another belt, then tossed it aside. That one had had rabbits on it, he sneered as he looked through the remaining belts. Finally he picked one out that had nothing but leather scroll work.

Ayame took it from him, gifting him with a small smile. "This is nice!" She put it back down and took Naruto's arm. "Now why don't we check out the stall down the street? They always have good bargains."

The blond young man looked back behind him, confused. "But you said that belt was nice." He protested. "Why not just get that one?"

Ayame gave him an unreadable look, then smiled again. "But what if we find something better down the street? If we don't, we can always come back for this one."

Naruto sighed and walked along beside her. He'd thought going out with Ayame to get her father a birthday gift would only take a few moments. Looking back at the store they'd just left, he figured he was going to have to rethink his idea of how long a 'shopping' trip was going to take.

o.o.o.o.o

"Hai, Kazekage-domo." The man bowed deeply, sucking-up for all he was worth. "It shall be as you ask."

Gaara nodded briefly, dismissing the sycophant without further thought. He didn't even look up as the man left, but did grunt a greeting to Baki as he slipped inside the office though. The wind master watched the other man leave, closing the door. "I don't recall him being on the appointment list."

The red-head nodded, even as he continued writing something down. "I fit him in between meetings."

Baki's one visible eye widened slightly. "I thought you couldn't stand him? I think you described him as an oily, sneaky liar who would do anything to make a yen."

"Yes." Gaara nodded, then rolled his shoulders wearily. "But he does own a refrigerated wagon that he uses to import goods."

"Ah!" Baki nodded, finally making the connection. "And such a wagon would be highly beneficial in transporting certain ...plants ...to Konoha? What did you have to give him in return?"

A grunt was Gaara's response as he then sighed. "I asked to purchase his entire load of produce for a dinner that I have to host next month. The one for the Earth Country representatives."

"He didn't just loan it to you?" Baki sounded surprised. "Currying favor with you is usually his favorite past time. Did you at least get a discount?"

"Ten percent." Gaara grunted.

Baki blinked. "That's not very much. Are you sure that was really him, and not someone using a transformation jutsu?"

The red head looked up at that, a ghost of a smile haunting his lips. "He was angling for an invite to the Kazekage tower. Or to be the caterer for Kankuro's wedding reception. Or maybe even to be a dinner guest of mine."

Baki whistled. "No, that sounds like him. Bold and unrealistic."

"I don't need to be indebted to him for a favor. So I promised to buy the produce for the Earth Country dinner. He's loaning his wagon to me at a good discount. Of course, if anything happens to it, I have to replace it." Gaara complained, then sighed. "So I need a larger escort than usual to head out to Konoha."

Baki nodded. "I'll come myself." He paused as his Kazekage pinned him with a hard stare. "Just to protect the wagon of course." He didn't add that he wanted to be on hand to meet this Yamanaka Ino. Nor did he add that he might need to be around if Ino rejected Gaara's proposal.

Even if suspected Baki's true reasons for going, Gaara just grunted and went back to his paperwork. There was a lot to be done before he left for the Leaf Village. Tomorrow.

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai opened her apartment door. She stared a moment, then stepped back outside to check the number on the door. No. She had the right place.

The pretty genjutsu specialist reluctantly dropped her dirty travel pack in the foyer. The spotless foyer. Sniffing, she followed her nose to the kitchen. The spotless kitchen. Following the enticing scent, she walked over to the stove. Bemused she lifted the lid on the pot. More of the delicious scents teased her nose as she reached for a wooden spoon. Then she stared at the spoon.

"I don't own wooden spoons." Kurenai muttered to herself.

"You do now." A voice interrupted her musing.

Kurenai turned to stare at the rough, scarred shinobi currently leaning against the kitchen entrance wall. He smiled at her. "Taste it."

"How did you know we'd be home today?" Kurenai asked as she dipped the spoon into the fish and seafood stew. Taking a taste, she nearly groaned in pleasure, her eyes closing as she swallowed. "I didn't know you could cook."

"I've lived alone a very long time." Ibiki shrugged. "And this is the only dish that I can make with any decency. It gets old after a while."

"It's wonderful. You're wonderful." Kurenai turned just in time to see Shunin come around the corner, rubbing at his eyes with his favorite blanket clutched in one hand.

"Momma? MOMMA!" Suddenly her arms were filled with wriggling and excited toddler. Rocking against the stove, she nearly knocked over the stew pot.

Ibiki was there in a flash, pulling her and Shunin away from the stove and making sure nothing spilled. But he didn't have time to grab a towel or oven mitt, so when Kurenai finally was able to look at him over her overly squealing son, she frowned to see him running cold water over his hand.

"Are you okay?" She asked, then had to pull her son's fingers out of her hair as he tried to climb her.

"I'm great." Ibiki dried his hands and waved his fingers at her. "Barely singed. Though I look better than you do right now, and that's saying something for this ugly mug. You need to rest by the look of things."

"You are not ugly." Kurenai snapped, then had to turn her attention back to her son as he started bouncing to get down. Shunin's feet were moving before he even touched the ground, and in a flash he was down the hall. Wearily, Kurenai pushed her hair out of her face. "Where's he going? Usually he clings for a few hours after I get back from a mission."

Ibiki walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm filthy." She protested, but didn't fight him off as he ignored her warning and gave her a quick kiss and hugged her.

"Momma! Here! Momma, here!" The voice rose with each moment as Shunin bounced up and down on his toes, shoving a piece of paper into her hands. "A p'esent!"

"A present?" Kurenai smiled brightly, despite her bone-weary fatigue. "How marvelous!"

Shunin giggled as she opened the home-made card. She raised her eyes at the calligraphy welcoming her home, and the colorful crayon marks trying to mimic the words. It was mostly scribbling, but at least he'd tried. "This is wonderful, Shunin! You're so smart!"

The toddler giggled, smiling giddily up at her.

Kurenai walked over to put the home-made card on her ice box. She glanced over at Ibiki. "We brought you a present back from our mission."

"A present? For me?" Ibiki's smile grew wide. "How unexpected."

"A prisoner. It turns out someone was trying to breed some sort of disease. Maybe. Anyway, that's your job to question the guy." Kurenai flashed a tired grin. "As soon as he's better. He's at the hospital under guard now."

Ibiki sighed dramatically, drooping his shoulders. "But I didn't know you'd be bringing me a gift, I didn't get you anything."

Shunin grinned and took off back down the hall, though neither adult seemed to notice at the moment.

"You didn't get sick?" Ibiki asked, eying her carefully.

"No." Kurenai rolled her neck. "This is nothing a bath and a nap won't cure. The Hokage's shot she inoculated us with seemed to do the trick."

"Good."

"Though Kiba did manage to catch the flu." She giggled. "We had a bad time for a while before we figured out that he'd not caught the fever, but had the plain old flu instead."

Shunin came running back into the kitchen. "Op'n! Op'n!" He waved the silver and ruby wrapped box with the matching ribbon.

Ibiki sighed and closed his eyes.

Kurenai took the box with a smile and then peeked over at Ibiki. "So, you _didn't_ have a present for me?"

The ANBU division leader sighed and frowned comically down at the beaming toddler. "Boy, we're going to have to work on your secret keeping skills."

Laughing, Kurenai shook her head. "No. The big, bad ANBU shinobi is going to have to work on his item hiding skills instead. You can't blame the baby for this one."

Shunin just giggled and bounced around the kitchen, and the couple, in sheer excitement.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsume frowned, but didn't interrupt her daughter's lunch date as she watched from across the street.

Shizune walked up beside her, stopping to look at Hana laughing uproariously to something Neji had just said. "They look happy."

"I grounded her." Tsume mumbled half-way under her breath.

Surprised, Shizune's eyebrows shot up. Then she smiled. "That seems to have been useless. Besides, isn't she too old to be grounded?"

Tsume sighed and turned away from the young couple. "Yes, and I still don't know why I did it. My nin-dog thinks it's just because the pups are growing up and will want to have homes of their own. It's not as if I thought she'd really done anything wrong. And I think I'd be more disappointed in her if she'd obeyed my grounding her, I raised her to be more independent than that. Then again, isn't a child supposed to honor their elders, and respect their clan leader's decision? Children." She grumbled as she frowned.

Shizune sighed. "It's about your other child that I'm here, actually."

"Kiba?" Tsume's sharp eyes suddenly turned on the Hokage's assistant. "What's wrong with Kiba?"

o.o.o.o.o

Ino fingered the fabric on her gown for Hinata's engagement party. It might have been foolish to buy a dress for an event she hadn't even been sure she'd be in Konoha for.

In her other hand, Ino held the latest missive from Gaara. It held only two words. Seems like Gaara had given up on couching his messages in actual sentences. Short and sweet. Ino sniffed and lifted the letter up again, though she already had memorized those two words. "White violets."

The blonde kunoichi reluctantly stepped out of her closet, shutting the door. Why had she bought the dress? Sure, at the time she reasoned with herself that Gaara would probably let her come back for Hinata and Chouji and to celebrate their engagement. But had she really been counting on that? Or had she been doubting that she'd be heading out to Suna?

But ...with each letter, that doubt was fading. And fading fast. Ino grinned and traced the words on the note.

"Let's take a chance on happiness." She quoted the meaning of white violets in the language of flowers as she sighed happily. "Looks like I'll be heading to the desert after all."

But what if she couldn't come back for Hinata's engagement? What was she going to do with a ball gown in Suna of all places?

o.o.o.o.o

Naruto was exhausted. Simply beat. How did a day of shopping completely destroy his energy more than a day of hard training?

"Where's Ayame?" Her father asked as he sat down a steaming bowl of ramen before the blond shinobi.

Naruto shrugged and perked up at the smell and sight of his favorite meal. He broke apart his chopsticks eagerly. "Said she'd forgotten something and would meet me here." He frowned over at her bowl. "She told me what to go ahead and order for her." He mused thoughtfully.

Takao smiled and nodded toward the street. "Nevermind, I see her coming now. Looks like she's got a gift."

"Huh uh." Naruto said, barely restraining himself from digging into his ramen as he waited for Ayame to take her seat. But inwardly he groaned. The gift. The leather belt he'd found early in the day. The one they'd gone back to buy AFTER visiting nearly every store in the village and looking through huge piles of wares. No, they had to go back and get the belt he'd wanted to get in the first place! "Women."

"What's that?" Ayame said sweetly, climbing onto the stool next to him as she smiled at her father then back at Naruto.

"Oh nothing! Better dig in while it's hot!" Naruto grinned and chuckled as he put his words to action and quickly started eating.

Ayame watched him with a smile, then put the present down between them and started eating her own dinner, albeit at a much more sedate pace.

Naruto finished quickly, leaning back and patting his stomach in a pleased manner. "That was great!" He then looked over at the gift sitting between he and Ayame. "I thought your father's birthday wasn't until next week."

Takao smiled as Ayame blushed. "It is." She said shyly. "This ...this is for you."

The blonde shinobi shook his head. "But it's not my birthday."

"It's not a birthday present. It's ...I just think it's something you'd like." She picked up the gift and presented it to him with both hands in the Japanese custom.

Uncharacteristically quiet, Naruto took both hands and accepted the gift. He held it a very long moment, just staring at it.

"Aren't you going to open it?" Takao teased the young shinobi.

Naruto swallowed and shook his head, then nodded, then shook his head again.

Ayame and her father waited him out, letting him take his time. They more than most knew the young man didn't often receive gifts. Finally, Naruto took one hand and tugged gently at the ribbon, careful not to rip it off. Taking his time, savoring the feeling, he unwrapped the box and finally opened it to reveal a leather belt. One decorated with frogs. His large blue eyes blinked.

Ayame watched his face carefully, hoping he liked it. "I saw how much you liked it earlier, and thought that with your frog wallet and all ...that you might like it."

Naruto looked up at her and realized that he had never told her about Jiraiya or Gamabunta. He smiled at her. "You are so sweet. Thank you."

"So you do like frogs?" She smiled, relieved.

Naruto nodded and got up to hug her, with her father watching on, beaming. "Yes. Yes I like frogs. And toads." He added for good measure. "And you. Thank you, Ayame."

She smiled and gave him a huge smile that simply lit up the whole food stand.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara groaned as he stretched and at last put down his pen. He blinked owlishly at the supper plate on his desk, wondering when in the world it had gotten there. His stomach growled. Looking outside, he realized that the sun had already set. Sighing, he opened the lid and frowned sharply at the cold and congealed food.

"If you'd eaten that when I'd brought it in, it would still be hot." Baki said without inflection from where he was sitting, going over duty rosters.

Gaara frowned, but didn't bother to answer.

"That was two hours ago." Baki continued, ignoring Gaara's bad mood with a blitheness that he didn't actually feel. "I'll go tell the kitchen to bring up a fresh tray."

A knock on the door interrupted any response the Kazekage would have made. Baki's shoulder's relaxed a bit as Kankuro and TenTen entered the office. "Working late again?"

Gaara growled, and his stomach answered the sound with a growl of it's own.

TenTen's eyebrows shot up, then she looked at the plate on his desk. "That's not fit for man nor beast, let me go get something hot for you." She didn't bother to wait for an answer, just sweeping over and taking command as she took away the tray and headed out the door.

Baki watched the young Leaf kunoichi leave, not even appearing to mind Gaara's scowl or foul mood. He wondered just what made up these Konoha women. They seemed to all be dangerous, smart, and beautiful. It was enough to make a confirmed old bachelor re-think things. As soon as the thought formed, though, it dismissed it as nonsense.

"I don't think she fears me anymore." Gaara said, still watching the door where TenTen had just left the office.

Kankuro grinned and dropped down into one of the seats in front of the Kazekage's desk. "Don't worry about it too much, she doesn't fear me at all. For you? There's still a small amount of healthy fear along with some respect."

Gaara blinked, then turned his pale-jade eyes to his older brother. "If she has any fear of me, she hides it well."

"Speaking of hiding things, did you get rid of those old black pants she stuck you in?" Kankuro asked with a wink.

Baki looked back and forth between the brothers, feeling lost in this particular conversation. "Black pants?"

"Nevermind." Gaara scowled. "And I shredded them for rags for the maid to use. Couldn't move at all in those things, would have been useless in a fight."

Kankuro grinned widely. "They weren't for fighting. They were to show you off, for Ino's benefit."

Gaara paused and shook his head at the puppet ninja. But Kankuro only nodded. Gaara pulled back, his expression clearly showing his disbelief. Kankuro nodded again, this time with another grin.

The red-head sighed and looked away. "Doesn't matter, I disposed of them." But a part of him wondered if he had time to go buy another pair of black slacks before leaving for Konoha tomorrow. Probably not.

TenTen opened the barely closed door with one hip, backing in with a laden tray full of steaming dishes. "I really don't know what kind of foods you like, so I got a bit of everything. Hope you're hungry."

Gaara's stomach growled as she put the tray down in front of him. He watched her set out the various dishes and smiled at her before he could stop himself. That was as close to giving a 'thank you' as he could manage at the moment but TenTen smiled back and seemed to understand as he dug into the hot stewed dish first.

Kankuro looked over to Baki with a big grin, as their former sensei just watched in amazement. He just prayed to heaven that this Ino kunoichi came back to Suna with Gaara. The Kazekage, no ... all of Suna needed this.

"So. I finally talked TenTen into marrying me." The puppet ninja said with a contented sigh, sinking further down into his chair.

"Badgered. You badgered, you didn't talk me into anything." TenTen shot her fiancé a baleful glare.

Baki nodded. "Congratulations."

Gaara just grunted and kept eating.

Baki pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. "Have you set a date?"

Kankuro grinned. "As soon as I can talk her into eloping."

TenTen scowled, but it was Gaara who looked up and shook his head. "You two can't elope." He announced coolly.

The puppeteer blinked, his good mood deflating a bit. "Why not?" He said mulishly.

TenTen grinned at him. "I told you. We're from two different villages. There will have to be special contracts drawn up. And you have to contact my parents. It's not so easy as you seem to think."

Kankuro waved off her concerns. "Okay, a week or two for all that. How about a month from now? A real simple wedding, close friends and family only."

TenTen grinned. "That sounds about right."

"No."

Everyone stopped and turned to stare. Gaara stared back, uncowed. TenTen shook her head at the red-head. "Why not?"

Gaara sighed and pushed his bowl away, making TenTen frown harder at him. "No. Go on and eat, you missed both lunch and supper. But then explain why I can't just go out and marry Kankuro tomorrow if I wanted."

Kankuro smiled, relaxing. "Gaara? Thanks. But you don't have to goad her into moving the wedding date up for me. A month is good."

"I never eat much." The red-head explained to TenTen as she pushed a bowl of cut up fruit at him. "And this is a marriage solidifying the alliance between Leaf and Sand. This can not be a small simple wedding. This needs to be a large celebration. There will have to be formal presentations at the temples in both villages, but the wedding itself will need to be held in Konoha as the bride's home place with her family in full attendance."

Kankuro stiffened in shock, his eyes going wide. "What?"

Gaara shrugged and reached out for some melon slices. "I don't mind trying to hurry things along for you, but weddings this large will take longer than a month to coordinate."

The puppeteer groaned and closed his eyes, dropping his head back in defeat. "You're going to put Temari through all of this too."

"Only if she marries the Aburame, or someone else in the Leaf village." Gaara bit into the melon. "This is good."

"They're in season." TenTen said, then slapped her forehead. "Forget the melon! I don't want a formal spectacle of a wedding!"

"Then don't marry my brother." Gaara said simply, taking another piece of melon.

Kankuro's head jerked up and he pinned a harsh glare on his younger, if more powerful brother. "Bite. Your. Tongue."

Gaara didn't even blink as he glared back at his brother. "Threatening your Kazekage?"

Baki picked up his pen. "So. Let's start on the formal proclamations that need to be sent to the Hokage and the Konoha council."

TenTen coughed. "My parents. They should be notified first."

Gaara and Kankuro continued staring at each other. The puppeteer blinked first. He was also the one to start cursing under his breath as TenTen and Baki started making lists of things to do.

The Kazekage smiled slightly and settled back in his chair, taking the last piece of melon, having won the silent battle. But Kankuro wasn't without hope for the last words. "At least I get to look forward to you going through an even larger wedding. Kazekage-domo."

The melon turned to sawdust in Gaara's mouth as he glared daggers at his older brother.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura rushed through the halls. She'd heard that Kiba's team was back, but that he'd been brought in for treatment. That was all she knew.

Rounding the corner, she knocked into a rack of charts that a nurse was pushing down the hall. She apologized as she raced away, never even slowing down. Finally she got to the door of the exam room where she'd been told Kiba was.

After having rushed across the entire complex, she stopped cold, suddenly completely unsure. Nervously she smoothed down her hair and re-tied her forehead protector. She ran her hands over her tunic, smoothing out the wrinkles and wondering if she had time to go change into something fresher.

Suddenly the door opened and Kiba stood in front of her.

He blinked.

She smiled nervously.

Kiba gagged and ran to throw up.

o.o.o.o.o

**Well? Hope you enjoyed!**


	41. Ninety Five Percent

**Day One:**

TenTen hid her smile as Gaara joined the travel group with seconds to spare before their departure time. The one that HE had set and had stressed as all important. Last night, after poring over lists of things to do for her wedding, it had been decided that she and Kankuro should accompany the Kazekage on this trip back to Konoha. That way they could inform her family of her plans to marry in person, rather than in a letter.

"Been shopping?" She asked as innocently as she could.

Gaara stilled, then shook his head.

"New black pants?" TenTen pushed the conversation, unable to stop herself despite Kankuro's silent gesture to stop.

Gaara glowered a moment, then turned away toward the refrigerated wagon to check, yet again, the arrangements for the flowers he was carrying back to Konoha. When they'd left the greenhouse, TenTen had looked back to see the attendants all either slumped over furniture in exhaustion or breaking out the sake. They'd delivered what their Kazekage had demanded of them, and they were relieved their part of it was over. And that they still lived.

"You look nice." TenTen finished with a smile as she passed Gaara.

Hearing her sincerity caused some of the butterflies currently occupying his stomach to settle, and Gaara was able to give the command to head out in a reasonable tone.

o.o.o.o.o

Nara Shikaku yawned as he dragged himself out of the shower, taking his time dressing so as not to disturb his pounding headache. _Damn_, Choza could put away the sake. Last night was foggy, but he did recall that neither he nor Inoichi had wanted to be left behind in the dust. So they'd kept up with the big man drink for drink. Or at least they'd tried.

A branch scraped lightly against the side of the house. A small sound. Nothing noticeable. Except to a man with a screaming hangover.

Shikaku winced and held his breath until the nausea passed. Okay, so they'd TRIED to keep up with Choza. But with his son's recent engagement, everyone was still buying the Akimichi drinks. Lots of them. Choza was a likeable fellow, and it showed. He had friends and acquaintances everywhere. And everywhere they'd gone last night, there had been toasts to the young couple. And Shikaku was not one to pass on a toast.

The oldest Nara shinobi sighed as he slowly made his way down the stairs, holding on to the railing to make sure his feet found the ground without difficulty as his vision swam slightly.

"And just what do you mean by that?" The soft voice belied the temper behind the tone. He knew that tone, and he was just glad that his wife wasn't currently using it on him.

Shikaku paused on the stairway, foot hanging in mid-air, debating his options. Flee? Fight? Bluff? He couldn't see who was in his house, arguing with his wife, but he didn't think he would be off the mark if he guessed a certain blue-haired ANBU kunoichi that answered to the name Yugao.

"Just what I said, Sukenobu is a much better author than Osagowa." Yugao's voice sounded determined.

A small intake of breath had Shikaku's eyes flitting to the side. Standing at the entrance to the kitchen was his one and only child. Shikamaru. It seems he too had heard the ladies 'talking', for the boy had gone as still as a statue.

If it wouldn't have hurt to laugh, the elder Nara would have found the whole thing quite humorous. The poor boy. But Shikaku's options had just widened. Instead of having to sneak out or bluff his way through the arguing women, he now had a new plan.

"Good morning, son!" Shikaku greeted Shikamaru loudly as the boy's eyes grew wide with horror. "Going in for something to eat? Good, good. I'll see you later!"

With that, Shikaku hurried out the front door to seek his breakfast elsewhere and, it just so happened, leaving his son to his fate. Both of them! Because he had no desire to watch the mayhem he was sure would follow.

o.o.o.o.o

The gray-faced shinobi groaned, sure that he was dying. His skin felt prickly and hot and yet he was cold. Shivering he wondered why he couldn't see. "Am I blind?" He whispered, his voice so hoarse he didn't even recognize it as his own.

Suddenly, something heavy was taken from his face. Blinking at the sudden onslaught of light, he watched in wonder as something pink floated in front of his face. He reached out weakly for the silken strands, touching them briefly before his arm fell back down, aching.

"Kiba?"

A moment passed, then two, then the shinobi finally realized that that was his name. "Yeah?" His eyes focused and the pink silk turned into hair. Hair surrounding a face. A face with concerned and luminous green eyes.

"Beautiful." He croaked.

The face twitched, then a small sound of a sigh reached him. Finally, she spoke. "I guess that's a much better compliment than throwing up at the first sight of me. That was yesterday, by the way."

Kiba blinked, then groaned as his memory flooded back. "Oh shit! Sakura …"

The kunoichi left his line of sight and he winced, then before he could complain, she was back again. Suddenly there was a spoon at his lips and he opened automatically, trusting her without thought. Cool ice chips made him want to shout for joy, but the best he could manage was a weak smile and an even weaker, "Sorry."

Sakura grinned down at him and he started to register that she didn't look right, she looked …tired? Chagrined, he realized that she must have stayed with him all night. "You need to rest." He said, coughing as he spoke.

"Look who's the one talking, tough guy." A matter-of-fact voice alerted Kiba to something he should have known the whole time. They weren't alone. He didn't need to look to recognize the scent, also the heavy growly sarcasm was enough for identification.

"Mom?"

"I know I didn't teach you much in the way of high manners, boy. But throwing up on your fiancé isn't something you learned from me." Tsume growled lightly.

"Fiance?" Sakura looked shocked, her face draining of color.

"What?" Kiba croaked and jerking his head around to look at his mother. He immediately regretted the move as his head felt like it exploded. It took a moment before the world righted itself and the ringing in his ears subsided enough to hear again.

"Stop that!" Sakura scolded. "Can't you see he's still sick?" She stayed away from the 'fiance' word, deciding to ignore it, for now.

Tsume yawned. "It's only the flu. Well, not just the flu. Kiba, apparently you were stupid enough to catch a secondary lung infection. Nothing an Inuzuka can't handle easily though." She waved off-handily at the duo and walked out the door.

Sakura's mouth opened and closed stupidly. "How can she just …"

"Was she here all night too?" Kiba asked, making eyes at the cup of ice chips in her hands.

Reading his expression, Sakura sighed in defeat. "Yes she was, so all this 'it's only the flu' was just for show?" She asked as she spooned him some more ice.

"Mom's not good with sick people. She doesn't coddle." Kiba closed his eyes happily, letting the cold chips melt on his tongue, delivering much needed fluids into his system no matter how slowly. "You just have to know how to read her. You'll learn."

At that, both of them stopped and stared at each other. Unsure and uncomfortable all of a sudden. His words hung in the air, much like Tsume's use of 'fiance' had done a moment ago.

Finally, Kiba opened his mouth to speak, but Sakura shoved a whole spoonful of ice into his mouth instead of just a few chips to keep him quiet.

"Don't ask me." She said quickly, trying to forestall him. "I'm not ready."

Coughing and sputtering, Kiba managed to swallow enough of the ice chips though his eyes were now watering. "Down girl. I know you're not ready. I am, but I won't push."

Nervous energy made Sakura's hands shake and she quickly put the cup of ice down and walked over to the window, adjusting the shade. "You're ready?" She whispered, not looking at him, not able to at the moment.

Kiba groaned and then coughed as he tried to chuckle. "Not this very moment, no. I seem to be too weak to do much of anything right now. You're safe." He breathed a sigh of relief as his attempt at levity appeared to work. Sakura's shoulders shook slightly as she giggled and gave him a soft look.

"You worried me, you know."

The dog-nin shrugged and found that his shoulders ached. He winced as he tried to stretch and resettle himself in the bed. Sakura hurried over to help him.

"You had my mother worried too." She said gently as she helped him sit up enough so she could adjust his pillow.

With a sigh he groaned and leaned back, letting his dark eyes trace her features. "I'm sure your mother was very worried …that I'd pull through."

Frowning, Sakura sat back down beside him, pushing his hair out of his face. "No. We had a long talk after you …well, you know. Actually, we had several long talks. I won't say she _loves_ you yet, but she was worried about you being sick like this. You impressed her, you know."

"With what, my foul temper?" Kiba sighed. "I tried to keep it low for you, but …"

"Shhhh …she won't admit it, but I know you won some points." Sakura smiled softly down at him, now tracing the lines of his face with a feather soft touch. "She made you her famous chicken soup with a secret recipe that she won't even share with me. She doesn't make that for just anyone you know."

Kiba coughed then eyed her warily. "Did she poison it?"

"Tsunade thought it tasted great, she just left with a second bowl." Sakura mock growled at him, but lost her frown. She couldn't keep it up even in jest, she was just so happy to see him awake and no longer throwing up.

"The Hokage ate my soup?" Kiba whined. "And you let her?"

"Well, it's not like you could keep it down." Sakura said with a grin and stuck her tongue out at him. "Why let soup that good go to waste?"

Kiba narrowed his eyes at her. "You ate some too." He accused.

Sakura nodded slowly, looking unrepentant. "But don't worry, _your_ mother brought over a pot of soup too. It's all for you."

"What?" Kiba choked, gagging and turning green. "You're mean!"

"Yeah, Tsunade took one sniff and wouldn't touch it." Sakura teased him, then leaned forward to whisper. "I'm kidding, she said that Hana made it."

Kiba relaxed, though by now he was shaking with exhaustion. "You scared me there for a moment." He shuddered thinking about his mother's lack of culinary skills.

"You should rest. Or do you think your stomach could handle a bowl of soup?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked him, her brow furrowing in worry.

"No." Kiba groaned, as he felt his stomach turn over. "No soup yet. Ice chips though, that'd be good."

He sounded sleepy and Sakura bent over and kissed his forehead.

"You'll get sick too." He protested weakly, just this side of falling into sleep.

"I'm fine." Sakura whispered back to him. "And I'm already exposed, no need for anyone else to come in here and take care of you." She grinned widely. "Like I'd let them anyway. You have any idea how many cute nurses I've had to fight off to keep you all to myself?"

"Yeah right." Kiba grinned even as he closed his eyes.

Sakura sighed and watched him start to drift off. At least this was real sleep and he wasn't thrashing around with fever anymore. She didn't think that he realized just how serious she'd been about keeping him to herself. The first time a nurse had tried to relieve her, well …Sakura blushed as she remembered her harsh words. She'd have to apologize later. The woman had probably only been doing her job. "I love you."

"I love …you ...too." Kiba yawned, his eyelids flickering but not opening.

"And thank you for not pushing me to be ready to get married." Sakura wasn't sure he'd heard her, until a small smile played around his lips.

"Married?" Kiba managed to crack open one dark eye and look at her fondly. "Hell no, I'm not ready to get married just yet."

Sakura frowned sharply. "You said you were ready, if you didn't mean marriage, then … you meant sex?"

"Oh yeah, I'm ready for _that_." He groaned, closing his eyes, grinning. "Anytime."

Sakura glared at him, but was unable to yell. Not when he'd just been so ill. Not when he needed his rest. Not when … **"What the hell do you mean by that!"** She shrieked, then sighed with disappointment that she'd been unable to rein in inner-Sakura.

Startled wide awake, Kiba stared at her furious face. "What's wrong?" He whimpered pitifully.

Melting a bit, she grimaced at him. "You said you wanted to have sex with me!"

Kiba frowned. "I _always_ want to have sex with you. Maybe not this very minute, or I might pass out before we get anywhere. But you know I want you like that, it's no big secret. But if you're offering now …I might be able to _try_."

Sakura raised her fist, bared her teeth, then broke down into a giggling fit as she realized just how stupid all of this really was. How could she be mad at him for not wanting to get married yet, when SHE didn't want to get married yet either?

"Never mind. I love you. Go back to sleep." She patted his hand softly.

Kiba caught her hand in his. "Sex?"

"Marriage?" She retorted, then grinned as his face fell slack.

"You're going to make me wait until we get married?" Kiba sounded utterly appalled.

Sakura grinned and teased him. "Maybe." She told him breezily, then leaned forward with a glint in her eye. "And what do you mean UNTIL we get married? You haven't asked properly yet, hotshot. Yelling it at me in an argument with my mother doesn't count."

Kiba groaned as she leaned forward and pressed a feather light kiss to his forehead. "Go to sleep. We'll talk later."

"Talk?" Kiba asked, his voice fading as his energy flagged. "About sex , or about marriage?"

"Yes." She grinned as she answered with deliberate vagueness. Still, Kiba wasn't complaining as he could no longer fight the exhaustion. He finally sank fully into sleep, completely worn out.

o.o.o.o.o

"False alarm." Shizune said in a careful, measured voice so as not to startle the on-edge kunoichi. "You're not pregnant."

"Areyousure??"

Shizune sighed. "I've done the test three times, because you wouldn't believe me with the first two. Anko, you are NOT pregnant."

"But you said I would be!" The spiky-haired jounin protested.

The medic sighed, shaking her head. "Something I regret more with every passing moment. Anko, you're not even late yet!"

Anko started to pace up and down the small office. Shizune watched and then looked at the clock. Gai was picking her up in thirty minutes. And Gai was never late. Just how soon could she shake Anko loose?

"Look. We were out. A little less than sober. Sai was in the restroom while Gai was paying our bill. You were bragging."

"Talking." Anko snapped.

"Bragging." Shizune insisted. "Why else from out of nowhere would you ask about Gai's sexual proficiency? Like I would ever talk about that. So you go and brag …"

"I was just talking." Anko spoke up weakly.

"Bragging." Shizune insisted again.

Tsunade breezed through the door holding a steaming bowl of soup. "I thought you'd be gone by now."

"No not yet." Shizune said sadly, looking again at the time.

"No. That wasn't a question, that was a 'get the heck out of here'. I want to eat in peace and the one place no one will look for me is actually in one of the exam rooms." Tsunade pulled out a chair with her foot and sank down, dipping her spoon in the delicious smelling soup.

"I'm pregnant." Anko said miserably, dropping back onto the exam table.

Spoon half-way to her mouth, Tsunade gaped at her. "Whaaaa?"

"You are _not_ pregnant." Snapped an irate Shizune who then turned to her Hokage. "Did you steal that soup from Kiba?"

"He can't enjoy it now, it'll only come back up. Why waste it?" Tsunade shrugged, then as Shizune kept staring at her she dipped in her spoon and took a huge bite. "Sakura did it too, go bug her instead. Besides, this is way better than the cafeteria stuff."

"Didn't you hear me? I'm pregnant!" Anko sat up, glaring at the other two women.

Tsunade swallowed her soup, carefully looking Anko up and down. "I also heard Shizune say that you weren't pregnant. I believe her. She's a good medic, I trained her myself."

"Thank you." Slightly mollified, Shizune checked the time. "Look, you're healthy and not pregnant, Anko. I'm going now."

Tsunade grinned and winked at Anko.. "She used to come early and leave late. Put me to shame. But now? No, Gai comes before the Hokage now."

Shizune didn't even bother to answer as she headed for the door. Tsunade whistled sharply, and her assistant slowly turned around. "What now?"

"See? It's all about Gai? She's forgotten me. Used to be a time when she would have nagged me and nagged me until I apologized for stealing soup. Now? One scold and she's gone. Leaving me to my shame and thieving ways." Tsunade smiled beatifically and ate more soup, savoring each and every purloined spoonful.

"Shameless, both of you." Shizune sighed.

"Does Anko want to be pregnant?" The blonde asked.

"No!" The jounin in question shouted, horrified. "No I don't want to be …that!"

Tsunade winced. "Tone it down, you didn't have to shout. So …what makes you think you're pregnant? Not that I care, but I want you two to leave and let me eat my stolen goods in peace."

"Look, I need to go …" Shizune started to speak, but was hushed by a single hard look from the Hokage. "Fine. Anko was bragging that she and Sai were having sex every day, sometimes twice a day when they weren't off on missions."

Tsunade nodded. "So. This is Anko, I'm more surprised she didn't give you details. Positions. Places. The names of people they've shocked. Toys. Whatever."

"She did, but that's not important." Shizune sighed, rubbing the throbbing in her left temple.

"Sai's very, very creative." Anko purred.

Shizune glared at her until the spiky-haired jounin quieted. "Well, I asked her when she was due. She sneered and said she had no intention of ever getting pregnant. And …"

"She's horrible." Anko whimpered.

Shizune took a deep breath. "I just pointed out that birth control is only 98 percent effective and if she was having sex every day, that equaled 100 percent of the time and that she was more than likely pregnant right then."

Anko scowled at the other women. "Then she got really, really mean and asked me what color I was painting the nursery. And if I needed a breast pump for a shower gift, or did I prefer a toy for the baby."

"Well?" Tsunade asked, taking another bite of soup.

"Well what?" Anko asked. "Aren't you going to punish her?"

"No." The blonde grinned. "If Shizune's getting you a breast pump, I think I can at least chip in for a stroller. I think I can talk Kurenai, Gai and Kakashi into going in on one with me. Any preferences on style?"

Anko stared at them both in horror.

"Or, if you don't WANT to get pregnant." Tsunade continued, as if she'd just had an idea.

"Yes? Yes?" Anko nearly begged.

The blonde Hokage pinned her with a stare and an evil, dark grin. "Stop having sex."

Anko nearly fainted in horror even as Shizune fought not to laugh just as she was slipping out the door to meet up with Gai. Tsunade's laughter followed her down the hallway.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru toyed with his food and prayed for the earth to open up and swallow him whole.

"But you have to wash the cabbage leaf three times to be sure the grit is gone, then cut it length-wise …" Yoshino was saying through gritted teeth.

"No! If you wash it that much, you'll wilt it and lose the crisp texture. You just have to wash it twice, but be thorough. And cutting it? No, it has to be shredded by hand. If you use metal on it, it'll take on the taste of the metal." Yugao answered with just as much stubbornness, matching the older woman stride for stride in that department.

Shikamaru tuned them both out again. This had been going on for too long now. At first he'd thought to turn them on each other so they'd leave him alone. And it had worked to a certain extent, but the constant bickering was troublesome. And his father was no help, in fact it seemed that good ol' dad was taking too much pleasure in his pain.

And it still bothered him that he had no clue why Yugao still came over like this. Or why his mother kept letting her in the house in the first place. The two women were worse than oil and water.

He tuned back in on their conversation for a second.

"Honey with lemon is best for a sore throat." Yugao espoused.

Yoshino grinned. "But cayenne pepper mixed with warm water will cure a sore throat in next to no time."

Shikamaru stopped listening again. Maybe he should go find Chouji and cut out of here. The weather was finally starting to warm a bit, maybe they could ….

"And he just doesn't listen." Yoshino grumbled as she took out some napkins and started folding them.

Yugao nodded as she reached out and snagged a few napkins to help. "No, it's like we're too troublesome to pay attention to at all."

Shikamaru's ears went on high alert, though he didn't move a muscle.

"And I had to nag, nag, nag just to get him to take the jounin exam!" Yoshino said with a trace of fondness in her voice. "But he could have passed it a whole year before then."

"I remember!" Yugao snapped her fingers. "I didn't think too much of it at the time, but he had scores that put most of the other candidates to shame. And he didn't _want_ to take the exam you say?"

"No." Yoshino sighed, finishing with the folding. "It was like talking to a wall!"

"You know, I've asked him if he had any interest in joining ANBU. I mean, after his duties to his new genin team are up." The blue-haired woman mused. "But he doesn't seem terribly ambitious."

Yoshino's eyes narrowed. "He has a genin team? Funny, he never mentioned it."

Shikamaru almost panicked, they were ….they were ….

"Perhaps we should work together to convince him …" No sooner were the words out of his mother's mouth than Shikamaru beat a hasty retreat out the door.

Yugao smiled smugly after watching their prey run like a rabbit being hunted. "See, I told you he was listening."

Yoshino shook her head sadly. "What will I ever do with that boy?"

"Leave that to me." Yugao sighed and finished folding her own stack of napkins.

Shikamaru's mother cocked her head to the side and thought about it a long moment. "You know, you and I disagree and just about everything there is to discuss in this world."

"Except for Shikamaru. Him we agree on, he's pretty special." Yugao smiled. "And lazy."

"He needs someone beside him who is strong." Yoshino nodded. "I can't say I like you much, but if you can catch him I won't stand in your way."

Yugao shook her head. "I may not keep him once I catch him."

Yoshino nodded her understanding, but she'd seen the way the kunoichi's eyes had followed her son. And she'd noticed the hitching of his breathing whenever Yugao got too close. She had high hopes for the future. "Trust me, if you don't want him, leave now. Nara men …once they interest you, it's hard to let them go."

o.o.o.o.o

Chouji put down his chopsticks, giving Hinata a worried look. "We don't have to do this if you don't want."

The long-haired kunoichi quickly shook her head. "Yes we do, and I do want to marry you."

"You just don't want to be a spectacle." Chouji guessed. "Don't deny it, I know you too well by now."

"A wedding is ….well, we have to have one to be married. And I do want to marry you. I want to grow old with you and have children and …."

"Whoa!" Chouji grinned. "You don't have to convince me, I want all that too. But I want you to get what YOU want. And you go pale every time the betrothal festivities are mentioned."

Hinata dropped her gaze, flushing red. "I'm sorry."

"It's not something you have to be sorry about, Hinata." Chouji sighed. "And you're wrong, we don't have to have the huge wedding. We can go to the temple right now and get it over with. The contracts are all signed, everything's ready to go. The only thing we're waiting on is all the stuff you hate."

Hope bloomed in the beautiful kunoichi's heart as she contemplated eloping. She pictured her father's face and his anger when he found out …and she simply didn't care! "Let's do it!" She breathed.

Chouji nodded and made a grab for her hand, but at the last second she pulled back. "Hinata?"

"No." She breathed, deflating a bit. Then she squared her shoulders. "Everyone will be so disappointed."

"Who cares?" Chouji groused. "They say the wedding day is the bride's day …well, let's just prove them right and do things like you want."

Hinata smiled and reached out for his hand which was still resting on the table between them, he gave her fingers a quick reassuring squeeze. "Thank you."

"So? Let's go get married."

Hinata shook her head, but her eyes were still shining. "I'm okay now."

Chouji leaned forward. "If it's your father, we'll face him down together. There will be nothing he can do though, you'll be an Akimichi."

"And it's my new family I want to do this for." Hinata said breathlessly. "You don't know how much it means to me to know you'd skip all this for me. But …your mother is having the time of her life helping me arrange everything. Even your father is getting in on it. Your aunts and my sister and having so much fun with all the preparations. Hanabi even got the bakers to each send small sample cakes, they should arrive in a few days. You can help me taste them and decide which one is best."

"But you're not happy." Chouji complained, running his thumb gently over the back of her hand. "I want you to be happy."

Hinata smiled, the first real smile she'd shown in over a week. "You've just made me the happiest person ever."

"How?" He asked suspiciously. "I haven't done anything."

She smiled. "When all this 'stuff' was required of me, I felt like I couldn't breathe. But you've given me a way out, and I'm choosing not to take it. Now the choice is mine and I don't feel so …trapped. Now I can do it."

Chouji smiled at her, shaking his head slowly. "Fine. Just remember, say the word and we're heading to the temple to elope."

"I love you." Hinata breathed out slowly. He grinned at her and winked as he told her with just the expression in his eyes how he felt about her. Her face flushed again, but this time from pleasure rather than embarrassment.

o.o.o.o.o

"What do you mean?" Sai asked, puzzled.

"No sex today." Anko repeated. "Which of those three words do you need a dictionary to look up?"

The artist-ninja shrugged. "I know the meanings of the words, but not the meaning behind you saying them."

"I don't want to get pregnant." Anko explained in a huff. "Is that clear enough for you?"

Sai nodded, then stopped and looked puzzled again. Slowly, he shook his head. He licked his lips, and Anko groaned.

"Don't do that!" She slugged him in the arm.

Sai rubbed his arm absently as he eyed her like an exploding tag that was unstable. "Don't do what?"

"Make me want you." She sighed unhappily, shifting in her seat to keep from pouncing on him.

"Okay." He nodded, then shrugged. "Except I don't know what I did to make you want me in the first place, I never have. So …how do I stop it?"

Anko watched the light play on his shoulders, and the shadow that was trying to hide his exposed midriff from her. She groaned and leapt on him, pushing him on his back. "Too late!"

Sai watched her, his blood starting to heat up as he ran his hands down her sides. "What about not wanting to get pregnant?"

"Two days. Two from 100 is 98, so ….two days a month will make me safe." She avowed, knowing it sounded silly even as she said it. "We can't have sex for two days, then we're free."

He toyed with the closures on her clothing as he thought about what she said. "But you were gone on a mission two weeks ago for three days. And I had one last week and just got back yesterday."

Anko nodded as she pulled his top over his head, and Sai wasn't stopping her. In fact, his eyes were lighting up happily. "So, that's five days without sex this month alone. That's 95 percent. Okay, so we have 3 percent to play with and still be safe. Think you can go three times? I don't want to waste those percentage points. I want my full 98 percent!"

Sai shook his head negatively. "But I'll try." He promised, then leaned forward and quick as a snake, nipped her shoulder with his teeth.

Anko grinned and grabbed for the waistband of his pants. "Go for broke." She whispered huskily. "We're safe for today."

o.o.o.o.o

**This is the start of Day One. Day number three will be the end of this story. I do not know how many chapters it will take me (at least two, but probably more) to get through the countdown to Day Three. BTW ...the countdown is based on travel time from Suna to Konoha (yes, Gaara's travel time).**

**There's much to wrap up, so each day may be more than one chapter can hold. Depends. Won't know until I write them! x.x**

**And yes, there will be an epilogue.**

**Oh, and a special shout out and thank you to CheeseMaiden who once again has made a video for this story. This one is with the new (main) couples. The link is on my account if you're interested!**

**THANKS! Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!**


	42. Poking Fun

**Continuing Day One :**

"What if we told him you were pregnant?"

TenTen nearly bit her tongue, coughing so hard that her eyes were watering. She barely managed to swallow the bite of her lunch she'd just taken, rather than spit it out.

Kankuro grimaced. "I'll take that as a no?"

TenTen, still unable to talk, reached out and swatted at his head. Kankuro grinned at her even as he righted the Bunraku head gear she'd just displaced.

"Are you crazy?" She finally managed to croak out.

The puppeteer shrugged, unrepentant. "It would mean we could get married right away and not have to wait for a big, huge wedding. A big spectacle of a ceremony. I know you'd hate that."

"No, you mean that YOU would hate that." She protested. "I may not want one either, but my family ..."

A noise behind her made her turn quickly, but it was only one of the Suna shinobi taking some food to one of the others as they all took a quick break on their journey to the Leaf Village.

"He's over at the wagon, checking it again to make sure it's working right." Kankuro said, reading her mind. "Again."

TenTen reached over and hit him again.

"Ow! What was that one for?" Kankuro whined, rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't make fun of Gaara, I think it's really sweet that he's bringing Ino flowers." She paused a moment, then hit him once more for good measure. "And that's for suggesting we lie to him."

Kankuro winked at her and leaned back, out of her strike range. "Well, would it be a real lie? We could say we 'suspect' that you're pregnant and need to get married right away. I mean, your stomach was upset the other day."

TenTen scowled at him. "That was from the bad fish, and you got sick before I did! I should have known better than to buy from a vendor with a nickname like "Sneaky", something in the preservation must have been off. And I'm not going to tell Gaara anything of that sort. Besides, I want to wait a few months before getting married. You know that."

Kankuro opened his mouth to argue, when a shift in the wind gave him pause. Sitting still, his eyes snapped to the side of the clearing. Beside him, TenTen too went still, her muscles all relaxed as she waited. Relaxed equalled battle ready in this case, she knew better than to tense up or she might be caught moving in the wrong direction.

The two Suna guards behind them were still chatting away, but from their vantage point, Kankuro could see the moment Baki too sensed the change. The wind master put down his food, his hand dropping with fake casualness toward his weapons pouch.

Whomever was trying to sneak up on them was good, but not good enough.

TenTen's eyes narrowed and she shifted her eyes to the other side. Down by her lap, her fingers flashed. Kankuro nodded in agreement to the hidden signal. He too sensed five on their left and another six to their flank.

A small scrape of a boot on a tree limb pinpointed one location. Metal flashed and the weapons were away before Kankuro could blink. He grinned at TenTen as her thrown weapon was met with a harsh yelp of pain.

"That's my girl." He grinned, then leapt away as the log he'd been sitting on suddenly sprouted a few shuriken. With that, the fight was on as their would-be ambushers pressed forward.

o.o.o.o.o

Hana wrapped Neji's ankle, all the while trying hard not to laugh. The young Hyuuga sighed, his mouth tight but with no other indication of pain. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore. "So? How did this happen again?"

Neji frowned at her, giving her a silent look.

"Oh yes, you were 'training' with Gai and Lee, is that right?" Hana pushed her lips together to try and stem the laughter she could feel bubbling up within her.

"I finished the run." Neji said harshly, his mood ill. He didn't mention that they'd both managed to beat him, though it had been close. "They're both so stubborn."

Hana straightened up and nodded, then pulled the wrapping even tighter around his ankle. "You roll your eyes when Gai and Lee challenge each other. But I've noticed, than whenever they manage to drag you into it, you refuse to let them get the better of you." She leaned in, staring hard into his pale-eyed gaze. "Even when you know you need to stop. So …who is the stubborn ass?"

One of her nin-dogs whined and another one gave a small series of barks. Hana suddenly grinned before looking down at her three canine companions. "No, he's not really a donkey."

Another yip from the first dog had her doubling over, giggling. Neji scowled at them all. "What did he say?"

It took Hana a few tries before she could catch her breath, finally, still grinning she reached out and ruffled Neji's perfect fall of hair. "He said you have a mane, so he wasn't sure if you weren't a real …ass."

o.o.o.o.o

A shy smile lit her eyes as she took in the sight of him on her doorstep. He really did clean up well. Then a thought struck her.

"A yen for your thoughts, lovely Shizune." Gai said, his usual huge grin in place as he pressed the bouquet of flowers into her hands.

The kunoichi sniffed the gift appreciatively. "You don't have to get me flowers every time you come over." She smiled as she headed into her apartment. Looking around, almost anything that could hold flowers was already full.

Gai watched Shizune as she looked around her kitchen. "But I love seeing that look in your eyes when I do." He grinned. "I like making you smile like that. You don't smile like that for anyone else."

Shizune fought it, but couldn't help it when the corners of her mouth tilted upwards.

Gai grinned and threw back his head in delighted laughter. "THAT! That is the look you should wear every day from here until time dies. And I swear that I will not let you down ever in this endeavor!"

The smile faded slightly around the edges and Shizune turned her back on him as she reached into a cabinet to find a plastic food container, filling it with water.

"Blossom? Passion-flower of my heart?" Gai sounded alarmed as he raced up behind her, but then hesitated. Slowly he put his hand on her shoulder. "Nothing here would cause that reaction, so it must have been me."

Shizune shook her head in denial, but couldn't speak.

"Yes. Don't hide from me. I know you, I …I know your expressions. You hide so well from the others, but this time we have spent together has shown me that you are a pool that may be still on the surface, but has no bottom."

"Still waters run deep." Shizune chuckled. "Gai, can't you just say that? Instead of wrapping it up like …oh, I don't know. You always change sayings for your own purpose."

Gai shrugged, unsure. "Whose purpose would I use then? I am the one speaking, and I don't use other's words because they are my thoughts and belong to no one else." He reached out and traced the line of her chin, then tilted her face up to meet his eyes. "Tell me what is the matter, beloved."

Shizune caught her breath, then slowly, she whispered. "Beloved?"

Gai nodded, his dark eyes insistent. "I've called you such before."

"But …but Gai, you speak so …you …my nerves just can't …I don't know what you mean when you say that."

The Mighty Green Beast of Konoha peered directly into her eyes. "It means I love you like no other in my life before." His voice was quiet, unlike his usual bombastic self.

"I was a challenge to you." She gasped, backing away from him, but coming in contact with the kitchen counter and unable to retreat further.

Gai frowned. "We've been over that. Yes, at first …but then …you ran from me, ignored me. I …"

"Can't bear to lose a challenge?"

The green-clad shinobi nodded. "True, you know me I will admit. But in seeking to win my challenge, I began to study you. Watch you. Fall for you. It long ago ceased being a challenge, and became a quest to win you for my own sake alone. For …Shizune, I do not think I could bear to not be beside you."

Her heart racing, Shizune struggled not to melt into him. "There are more beautiful women in the village who would jump at the chance to be by your side."

Gai shook his head, putting his hands behind him. "They are not you."

"SEE! There it is!" Shizune caught her breath, color rising high in her cheeks.

Startled, Gai spun, looking behind him. Seeing nothing, he turned back to her. "What?"

Shizune sighed deeply. "Gai, I …you say all the right things. You look so earnest and sincere. But then …you put your hands behind you." Her eyes begged him to understand.

Gai's mind raced, but he didn't make the connection. "Where should my hands be?"

_On me!_ Shizune thought desperately. Finally, she bit her lip and tried to race by him, but he caught her easily, pulling her in against his body.

"Shizune?"

Warmth surrounded her in the one place she'd been hoping to be for so long, but she didn't dare. Pushing back, she was relieved …and angry …when he let her go. "You don't want to hold me?" The words were out before she could stop them, blushing furiously she stared at him.

"Of course I do." Gai protested. "You pulled away from me, not I from you!"

"Not then." Shizune snarled and pointed toward the kitchen counter where his beautiful bouquet mocked her. "Then!"

Gai looked behind him, still obviously puzzled.

Shizune sighed. "I've been so happy since we really started seeing each other …"

"I too have been the happiest of …" Shizune halted him, putting her hand over his mouth.

"Let me finish or I'll put you back on a diet of ten words an hour." She threatened.

Gai frowned slightly, but nodded. Silently. He waved gallantly for her to continue.

"Thank you." She said quickly. Then stared at him. Gai patiently waited and finally she sighed. "I don't know if I can do this now."

"If not now, then when?" Gai asked, breaking his silence. He reached out to touch her and then drew his hand back.

Shizune nodded. "At first I just thought you were being a gentleman. But …every time you touch me, you pull back. Over there? You put your hands behind your back. I'm not sure you're even really attracted to me, but only to the challenge of catching me. The chase, not the …"

This time Gai put his hand over her mouth, his eyebrows drawn down angrily. "Do not finish that thought beloved, or I will put _you_ on word restrictions."

Surprised, Shizune nodded with wide eyes.

"First. I never say what I don't mean. Never. I may use a lot of words, but each and every one of them comes from me and is the utter truth as I see it." Gai said, advancing on her a step. She backed up, flummoxed by the intensity in his eyes. Sure, Gai was always intense, but this …anger, this …fervor was new, at least outside of the battlefield.

"Second. I know you, maybe not all your secrets and maybe not all your quirks, but I know you." He continued, taking another step forward, invading her space. Shizune backed up a step automatically.

"And every time I get close, you back up. Just like now." Gai frowned at her, his dark eyes huge pools drawing her in. "I am not so blind to realize that YOU are blind, to your own beauty. Every compliment I give, you push off. Every time I express myself you try and think that I'm only being romantic and prattling what any man would say."

Shizune shook her head at him, but felt the bite of truth. "I'm no great beauty."

"To me you are." Gai insisted, drawing up close with another step that brought her back against the icebox. She had no more room to retreat. "I don't touch you, because you make me burn."

She shivered at his words as he leaned in close, his lips so close to her own.

"You are not just some date. You are not just some girl." Gai's voice was whisper soft, and yet rang in her ears. "I was waiting for you to stop retreating from me. I may be the Green Beast of Konoha …but I am no animal and I will not treat you like an animal. I will treat you as the princess you are to me. I will treat you with respect, always. But never doubt that I ache to touch you."

Okay, was she melting? Shizune wasn't sure, but she thought her knees might be turning to mush. Gai's hands caught her, and she felt like her skin may have just burst into flames.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara scowled as he fingered the hole in the knee of his new black slacks.

Kankuro and Baki exchanged unreadable looks, then shook they're heads in wonder. TenTen raced up with a small box of ointment.

"It's only a scratch." Kankuro said lightly, trying not to make a big deal of it. He didn't want to ignite the red-heads temper after all. "The tree bark ricocheted after one of them threw a kunai …and missed. Just plain bad luck."

"I don't want it to get infected." TenTen frowned over at her fiancé, not understanding his tension.

Gaara sighed and walked away from her without giving her a chance to put anything on the small wound.

Trying to turn the subject matter, Baki coughed lightly. "Kankuro? You're slipping. You let TenTen take down more of the bandits than you did."

The puppeteer accepted the challenge, reading between the lines and spoke loudly so Gaara could overhear. "That's because she nailed them before they came out of the trees. They were poor fighters and didn't dodge well. Besides, I had a rock in my boot."

"You have rocks in your head." TenTen mumbled as she passed him, heading for Gaara. Baki caught her arm and gave her a quick shake of his head, warning her off.

Thinking it over, TenTen looked at each man for a moment. Baki and Kankuro seemed to be trying to get her to let Gaara be. As for the Kazekage, he was off by himself. She mulled it over a moment, then shook her head. "He's going to be my baby brother soon, and I always wanted one."

Kankuro didn't stop her as she walked over to Gaara, but he did hold his breath as he watched. His brother wasn't used to being hurt, he'd never really adjusted to it after the sand had protected him for so long from ever getting even a single scratch. But the sand protection was no longer automatic. Without the demon Shukaku within him, Gaara now had to direct the sand to keep safe.

And he hadn't. Kankuro was still shocked about what he'd seen.

"I can sew those up for you." TenTen said, handing Gaara the small box of ointment.

The Suna Kazekage frowned. "The wound doesn't need sewing." He snapped viciously.

TenTen grinned, surprised that she didn't feel threatened. Then she realized that while Gaara was in a foul mood, he wasn't aiming his temper at her, not directly. "I meant the pants. Can't have you arriving with your knee showing."

Distracted, Gaara looked down at his slacks again. "I brought more with me."

"Really? You bought more than one pair?" TenTen grinned as Baki and Kankuro strained to hear their conversation. "You know Gaara, far be it from me to point out battle strategy to a foreign Kage."

Gaara's face fell still, his eyes narrowing.

"And it was really kinda nice the way your sand completely surrounded the wagon, but I think I know a certain blonde kunoichi who would much rather have _you_ in one piece than any flower you could bring her."

The red-head's frown deepened.

"How would you feel if she protected a gift meant for you, rather than protecting herself?" TenTen asked pointedly.

Startled, Gaara blinked at her. Chagrined, and not willing to show it, he stiffened and thanked her coldly before walking away.

TenTen grinned after him. "Men."

Kankuro walked up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. "I'm glad you want a baby brother. But all I have is Gaara. Not too much babyish about him."

"He'll do." She murmured, turning in his arms. Now that they were getting married, she didn't worry so much about others seeing their closeness.

The puppeteer grinned down at her happily.

o.o.o.o.o

"Look, don't go away mad." Hana said, still laughing as she pulled on her blouse.

Neji shook his head, pulling his boots on. "I'm not mad. It's just hard to stay in the mood when ..." He let his voice trail off.

"They don't mean anything by it." Hana continued, biting her lips to try and keep from laughing. Her Hyuuga boyfriend didn't much care to be the butt of a joke, even a canine one.

Neji looked over at the Haimaru triplets, her trio of nin-dogs as they sat staring at the young couple. "They're laughing at me too, I can tell."

Hana thought about denying it, but one look at her dogs and she knew she couldn't. They _were_ laughing at him. "Please don't go."

"Come with me." He countered. "I don't want to leave, I just want to be private. With you." He turned to stare balefully at the nin-dogs. "Without an audience."

One of the Haimaru triplets 'woofed', then the other two whined.

"Ah! See, they're saying they're sorry." Hana teased him, knowing if their positions were reversed she'd be in the same kind of snit that Neji seemed to be wallowing in. No one likes to be critiqued in the bedroom. Especially by dogs.

Another series of woofs, barks and yips followed. Neji sighed as Hana's face went red. "What now? Are they going to tell me that I need a better angle again, or that my skin is too pale, or that I don't make enough noise …"

Hana shook her head, pursing her lips. "No. This time …"

"Go on spit it out." Neji sighed. "Did they repeat the one where they thought I needed a bath first?"

Again Hana shook her head. "No, they just didn't care for the scent of cat on you."

"I got that from helping you hold the cat so you could check its ears." He complained lightly. "It can't get worse. So, what advice do they have for me this time?"

Hana snorted. "They said, and I quote … 'he wouldn't be leaving if you'd been doing it right.'"

Neji rounded on the Haimaru triplets, his pale-eyes narrowed dangerously. "Now look here fleabags. You can pick on me, but there's not a DAMN thing wrong with Hana or anything she does."

The three nin-dogs tucked their tails between their legs and dropped their gazes.

Hana snickered. "Thank you. Now why don't we just go find someplace … private."

"Love to." Neji sighed, running one hand through his hair.

One of the nin-dogs sat up, giving a bark and a yip along with a bit of a whine. He waved his paw in the air, for all the world looking like a man wanting to shake hands. Hana choked, then grinned and grabbed Neji's arm pulling him out the door. "Come on, let's go before it gets worse."

Neji followed along behind her until they were outside. He smiled at her. "They're not so bad, really. They just care about you."

"Yeah?" Hana snickered again. "Then why did my dog just tell me that you're more likely to have fleas than they are, your hair is longer. But I just think he's really just jealous."

"Jealous?"

Hana grinned as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. "He also happened to ask what you use to make your mane so shiny."

o.o.o.o.o

"It's not funny."

The blonde wouldn't stop laughing.

Shino waited for her to wind down, but every time she started to catch her breath she'd take one look at his face and double over again. He stared down at his girlfriend as she lay on her back grinning up at him and wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Are you quite finished?" He asked her.

Temari nodded, then giggled. "Which pair was it? The pink ones with polka-dots? Or the buttercup yellow ones?"

Shino sighed. "You are such a strong kunoichi, and you can keep up and surpass just about any shinobi I know. Why do you wear such frilly garments?"

"Garments?" She hooted with laughter. "You are such a prude! They're underwear! Panties! You're just lucky I don't wear thongs."

The Aburame heir sighed, shuddering at the thought. Then he eyed her carefully.

"You're picturing me in a thong now, aren't you?" Temari asked as she climbed to her feet, not taking the hand he offered to help her up.

He nodded with a sensual little smirk.

She grinned. "I might …might show you what I've got on …if you tell me which pair you were wearing when your father caught you."

"He didn't catch me, he used the bugs to spy." Shino protested.

"Same difference. Now spill." Temari poked him in the chest playfully.

Shino caught her finger, bringing it to his lips. "Not yet."

"When?" She asked.

"When are you going to be ready to discuss the future?" He parried.

Her grin faded as her nerves suddenly jangled. He was looking far too serious. "Don't push me bug-boy."

"Most women want to discuss the state of their relationships. I hear they drive men crazy wanting to talk it all out." He said carefully.

Temari pulled her hand away from him, then snapped at him with her teeth. He didn't flinch. "I'm not most women, and if you want one of them …go find one."

"I don't want anyone but you." He said quietly.

"Well, I'm not ready yet." She said, knowing he was talking about marriage. He'd been getting a strange look in his eyes ever since they'd received the invites to the Hyuuga-Akimichi engagement gala. Of course she could only see his eyes when they were alone, it was the only place he'd let her take off his sunglasses.

"When will you be ready?" Shino pushed.

"When I am, that's when!" Temari snapped, then sighed. "Look, not yet okay?"

He nodded and she sighed in relief. Then he hooked his fingers in the sash of her dress. Temari's eyes widened. "Oh no." She slapped at his hands. "Not until you tell me which undies you were wearing."

"Purple lace." He admitted, then tugged her sash loose.

Temari grinned and sighed. "My new favorites."

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen didn't think anything of it when Gaara asked if she were tired and needed a travel break. She shook her head, indicating she was fine.

An hour later, she didn't think anything of it when Gaara called an early halt on their journey, stating that one of the pack mules pulling the wagon was limping.

Used to roughing it, TenTen was pleasantly surprised when Gaara insisted on a large fire rather than a cold camp. And it never occurred to her to be suspicious when both Baki and the Kazekage offered her extra rations.

But when she went to go wash up, it did pique her curiosity when Gaara went white. He looked uneasy and then ordered two Suna guards away from the wagon to watch over her.

_Away from the wagon? _The same wagon he'd protected with a dome of sand so thoroughly that he'd left himself open for a stray fragment of tree bark after a kunai strike? Something wasn't making sense.

Coming back into camp, she eyed the red-head as he gestured for her to take a seat next to the fire. Where someone had fixed up some cushions, and sitting next to it was a fresh brewed cup of tea.

Bemused, TenTen stepped forward and a twig snapped beneath her foot. Gaara rushed forward as if to catch her, though she hadn't lost her balance. Looking into his worried eyes her own narrowed in sudden suspicion. "Just what did Kankuro tell you?"

Gaara shook his head. "Don't worry, I'll keep your secret. And we'll move up the wedding. Temari will have to have the huge wedding I guess."

_He thinks I'm pregnant! _She opened her mouth to tell him it was all a trick, but then stopped. What would he do to Kankuro if he found out his brother had lied?

TenTen scowled just as her lying puppeteer boyfriend came up beside them, slipping a proprietary arm around her as his hand patted her flat belly. She looked up at his face to see him wink at Gaara before the red-head beat a hasty retreat.

"I'm going to kill you for this." She hissed.

Kankuro just grinned.

o.o.o.o.o

**Okay, next chapter starts Day Two. And yes, I know there was no Sasuke or Shikamaru in this chapter, but there will be ...soon. Soon!**

**Hope you enjoyed! THANKS!**


	43. The Fine Art of Stalking

**Day Two:**

"You're following me. Stop it." The young voice was steady and held none of the nervousness usually associated with a genin kunoichi.

Sasuke looked up from where he was perusing a book at a local merchant stall. He glanced at Hanabi and sneered. "You say that like it's a statement of fact, and not paranoia, on your part of course."

Hanabi acted uncaring and uninterested as she pushed back a lock of her long hair, and stared at him. She didn't even bother to roll her eyes, but let her disgust shine through in her gaze nonetheless. "If I asked 'are you following me' instead of stating it, then I would be a very poor ninja indeed. I noticed you right off, but then again, only because you wanted me too. So it's not a matter of IF you are following me, but WHY."

"Large ego for such a little girl." Sasuke chuckled. "Besides, I was here before you. So you must be following me." He remarked with studied casualness.

Hanabi laughed, her pale-eyes sparkling. "Nice. Except you're a ninja. And from what I've seen from our brief time together on my team, an exceptional one. How hard would it be to note me coming out of the Hyuuga compound carrying a market bag?" She held up the net bag. "And a list?" She held up a sheet of paper. "You just took the rooftops and got to the market before I did, taking the most obvious route when considering where I was coming from and going to. Besides, even though you were camouflaging your chakra, I could tell you were there. Remember, I was your team captain. I made it my duty to memorize your energy signature, so to speak."

Sasuke didn't blink or move a muscle, no expression he gave told of his surprise. She'd noticed him? He smiled slowly. No she hadn't. She was bluffing. _Clever_. He thought to himself, never forgeting her devious streak.

He sighed and put the book he'd been looking at down. "Now why would I want to follow you?" Sasuke turned the question on her, to see what her thought process was on the subject matter.

Hanabi cocked her head to one side, knowing that she was playing a deep game and that he was out of her league. Still, she couldn't resist. _He's so hot_! She thought to herself.

"Well, this is the third day in a row that you have been mysteriously 'around' somewhere I've been." The long haired kunoichi said.

"Coincidence." He blew off the point.

She snorted. "Like hell, with ninja of your level there is no such thing as coincidence." With that, Hanabi continued down the street, effectively leaving Sasuke behind.

Except he didn't stay behind, he drew up beside her, for all the world looking bored to death. "My level? I half-way expected you to say 'our' level. What with your overblown sense of importance that insists that I'm following you."

"So you're not following me?" Hanabi asked, her eyes peeking at him from the side.

"No." He lied.

"There are only a few reasons that I can think of that you would be following me." She said slowly as they approached a fruit vendor.

"Why is the Hyuuga heiress running to the green grocers?" Sasuke asked, ignoring her comment. "Shouldn't a servant being doing this?"

Hanabi sighed and thumped a few early melons. "Hyuuga tradition. First melons of the Spring season are for good luck. The heir is always the one to choose just the right ones." She held up five fingers to the vendor, who bowed and nodded, fetching the ribbons in which to wrap the expensive melons. "Aren't you interested in the reasons that you're following me?" She teased.

"I'm not following you." Sasuke lied again, though he did it very, very well. So it was with some curiosity he wondered how she caught onto him so quickly. And she was only a genin to boot!

Hanabi wasn't sure if he was lying, but she was praying he was! Taking a small breath, she tried to steady her nerves that she hoped weren't showing. "Well, first of all you could be after more information on my sister."

Sasuke snorted.

"Yeah, didn't think so. I heard you promised your former sensei that you'd stay away from her. Good choice." Hanabi said blithely. "Then there is the possibility that you're interested in me."

Sasuke snorted again.

"Again, possible but not probable." She tried to keep her tone light and not show him that she wasn't overly impressed with him. Hanabi kept her eyes away from him, because it made her look cooler …AND …because if she did look at him too long she might over-heat! "So the most likely answer is that you need information."

"I thought we settled the fact that I'm no longer stalking your sister." He said baldly. _I'm stalking you_. He didn't say it out loud though, he didn't want to scare her off.

Hanabi shrugged. "Well, you're not looking in my direction. I'm too young and you'd have to wait for me."

Sasuke shrugged lightly and picked up an apple, tossing the vendor a coin. The man sneered at the sole-surviving Uchiha, but didn't comment. "I'm good at waiting, I've proven that."

"Sure, the whole revenge thing. Well done. Was the victory worth the destruction and betrayal?" Hanabi asked coolly, finally turning her pale-eyed gaze upon him once more.

"Yes." He said simply. "Does that bother you?"

Hanabi didn't answer, only continued her train of thought. "So, what information could you want from me?" She asked, shrugging off the question of his vendetta. "More than likely, you want to know which girls in the village are so desperate that they'll look in your direction."

Sasuke stiffened. "Desperate?" He objected, though not strongly, keeping a firm rein on his temper. No need to scare her off.

The Hyuuga heiress looked up at him innocently, he wasn't buying it for a second. He grinned. She grinned. Finally, she shrugged. "Desperate."

"I could have any woman in this village." Sasuke avowed, his pride ruffled slightly.

Hanabi clucked her tongue, shaking her head. "No, you couldn't. No one in town would have you. Except maybe the crazy widow down on Larkspur …oh wait, no she went to live with her daughter last week. Sorry. No one else is available."

"You are." He snarled.

Delighted to have teased him into showing a temper, Hanabi pretended to purse her lips and think about it a moment. "No. See, I don't even think you're as inept as all that."

Saskue drew up, affronted. "Inept?"

Hanabi shrugged and paid the vendor for the melons he presented to her. Finally she turned to him with a sheepish grin. "See. If you were after me, you'd be doing some serious courting. You wouldn't just be hanging around following me. That's how I know it's not me that you're interested in." She lied through her teeth.

"Oh?" He calmed, realizing she hadn't caught on to the fact that he _**had **_been following her in order to get her attention.

"Sure." Hanabi smiled and walked by him, turning to finish what she had to say. "Because you'd be an idiot if you thought just showing up and looking good was all it took to get MY attention." She laughed. "I know you're too smart to think that one look out of your dark eyes and I'd turn into some kind of rabid fangirl."

Sasuke just blinked.

Hanabi waved goodbye. "I know you're too good at strategy to be that dumb." She smiled. "Good luck on getting that 'any woman' in the village. Though you don't stand a chance."

Sasuke frowned as she turned the corner up the street and disappeared. He wasn't sure what was worse. The dig she'd made about him not being able to get any woman he wanted. Or the fact that he HAD thought she would turn into a fangirl if he just kept putting himself in front of her. "Damn it." He scowled, biting into his apple. Then cursing as he found it had a worm.

"At least it's not HALF a worm." He muttered as he tossed the rest of the piece of fruit away.

o.o.o.o.o

The two young men lay panting on the ground, sweat soaking them from head to toe. Both were grinning like idiots.

"A tie?" Lee groaned as he ran his hand over his face. "It can't end on a tie."

Naruto laughed wearily, though it was more of a cough-sputter than an actual laugh. "I ran you into the ground." He boasted.

Lee groaned and used the last of his energy to tap Naruto's arm.

"OUCH!" The blond groused, but didn't have the energy to rub away the sting.

From where they were sitting, Ayame watched with wide eyes. Matsuri laughed and sponged off her own hair. She'd quit training earlier than the boys had, though she'd still put in quite a work out. "Idiots." The kunoichi said fondly.

Ayame shook her head in wonder. "I'd always …it never occurred to me …"

"What?" Matsuri asked curiously.

"I knew he worked hard to build up such appetites at my father's ramen stand, but this …" Ayame waved her hand at the two exhausted young men. "This is so amazing."

"Isn't it though?" Matsuri nodded. "Though they kept it light today."

"Light?" Ayame's eyes went wide in wonder. "Really?"

The Suna kunoichi laughed. "No, it was a good work-out. But they did leave out the lethal stuff. This was just for fun."

"Fun?" Ayame repeated, then giggled. "You ninja have a different idea of fun than we civilians."

"What do you do for fun, lovely blossom of light?" Lee asked, finally able to sit up. Not to be outdone, Naruto too was sitting up. Though the two were leaning against each other for support.

"Hey, she's _my_ blossom of light." The blond protested without any real heat. "You have your own."

Ayame giggled at the light banter, knowing there was nothing behind it. Matsuri grinned and tossed the boys her towel, only raising an eyebrow as they good-naturedly fought over it. "Boys. Hey, stop it!"

But neither Lee nor Naruto really paid much mind to Matsuri, who just sighed.

"Naruto?" Ayame called. "I have a special towel for you." She smiled and tossed him another towel, exactly the same as the first one. "And when you're done we can go clean up and get something to eat."

Matsuri eyed the guys hurrying up and getting ready to go, no longer bickering, even in fun. She turned an admiring gaze on Ayame. "Nicely done. Especially for a civilian."

The café owner's daughter smiled sweetly. "We hold our own."

"True." The kunoichi grinned over at their two fellows. "You know? Gaara is scheduled to arrive tomorrow according to the note Temari got the other day. Why don't we make a big group of it? Dinner out and all that?"

Naruto and Lee both grinned. "That'd be great! We'll grab him tomorrow when he gets here!"

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara sneezed, but paid no attention as he inspected the refrigerated wagon. "Are you sure?" He asked doubtfully. "It still feels chilled."

The Suna guardsman sighed unhappily. "Kazekage-domo, I am the first of my family to be a ninja."

The red-head just stared at him with his pale-jade eyes. The guard became distinctly nervous. "I …it's just …sir, well …my father …we ….merchants …"

Baki sighed and shook his head. "What he's trying to get out is that his family has worked with this equipment in the past. Am I right?"

The guardsman nodded, relieved. "Yes, sir." He snapped to attention. "And that sound? That's the sound of trouble. She's going to fail." He looked at Gaara's eyes again, and swallowed hard. "We don't have the equipment to fix the wagon with us."

Baki waved the guardsman away, leaving himself alone with his Kazekage. "Gaara? I know you want these flowers to arrive in Konoha still fresh. So I suggest we pick up the pace, cold breaks from here on out with no fires. Push through the night."

Gaara nodded, and turned to go, but his eyes fell on his older brother. Kankuro was arguing over on the other side of the camp with his betrothed. He growled. Baki turned and saw where he was looking.

"She's young and strong. Kunoichi have no trouble with fast travel, even in her condition." Baki stated matter-of-factly. "I think she'd take great pains to remind you that she can hold her own, much like Temari would if she were here."

Gaara shook his head and then looked back at his refrigerated wagon. "I'm going on ahead with the wagon and two men. You look after them." He nodded toward the young couple. They were both watching when she reached back and slugged Kankuro in the stomach before stalking away.

"She looks like she can look after herself." Baki said dryly.

Gaara nodded. "I suppose so." He said, almost reluctantly.

Baki coughed. "We'll leave one more man here and I'll go with you. It's my duty." He didn't state that he needed to be on hand when Gaara met back up with Yamanaka Ino. Especially if the girl hadn't waited for Gaara, or decided to turn him down after their forced separation.

"Tsk. Fine." The red-head muttered.

Baki headed over to gather everyone and explain what was going on. As he talked, TenTen's face got redder and redder as her eyes narrowed and she turned to glare at Kankuro. Baki wondered if she'd found out that the puppeteer had let it slip about her delicate 'condition'. He supposed women could be sensitive about these things. Especially pregnant ones.

o.o.o.o.o

Clouds were Shikamaru's friends. But sometimes, even they weren't enough as they didn't offer much in the way of hiding places.

"Found you!" The voice didn't startle him, for he'd known there'd been a very high probability that this spot on the roof would not go unsearched.

Yugao toed his side slightly. "Bye."

"Bye." He responded absently. Then blinked up at the clouds floating above him as he idly wondered what she meant by that. As she started down the stairs though, it occurred to him that the word had meant exactly what it sounded like. "You're leaving?"

The blue-haired kunoichi smiled over at him. "I knew you were sharp, but you must be slowing down. I have my foot on the third step down before you even registered what I said."

Shikamaru sat up and sighed. "Troublesome."

"Why yes I am." Yugao said plainly. "And I take great pride in that fact."

The shadow ninja only sighed and waited for her to come back. It actually took a few minutes of utter silence before he realized she wasn't coming back to explain that single word. "Bye?" He said out loud.

Briefly, he thought about going after her. But it really seemed too much of a bother.

And he was sure he'd see her later.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke was in a strange mood as he made his way back to his small apartment. The Uchiha lands in Konoha had long been confiscated, ever since he'd left on his quest to study under Orochimaru.

He looked up at the dark window and suddenly he just didn't want to go inside. He'd always been a loner, but …but even as a loner he'd never truly been alone.

First there had been Sakura and Ino chasing after him. Then came Naruto and Kakashi, so even being a loner he'd never had a chance to feel lonely.

After that there had been Kabuto and Orochimaru, then the members of his own group that he'd put together to hunt down Itachi.

"Itachi." He breathed out on the one name. A name that still made him ache with sorrow, betrayal, hatred …and love. But his brother had died trying to take his eyes for his own. On the verge of winning, the great Uchiha Itachi's heart had given way.

Now Sasuke really was alone in the world. The only remaining Uchiha. He was on a team of a kind with Inuzuka Tsume, but they weren't really friends. Not like Sakura and Nar ….

On that thought, Sasuke caught a glimpse of an orange and brown outfit. He didn't smile, but he did grunt in satisfaction. Perfect. Instead of facing his empty apartment, he'd catch some ramen with Naruto. He'd even let the idiot prattle on all he wanted.

Then he caught wind of a distinctive female giggle and narrowed his eyes. Naruto wasn't alone. He had that girl with him, the one from the ramen shop. Stepping forward, he drew up short as he saw that Lee and another girl was with them. A foursome, double dating. Out for a night.

_A fifth wheel_.

Suddenly that trite old phrase sprouted in his mind. Like bitter ashes he watched as they turned in the opposite direction. He noticed immediately when Naruto sensed him and turned with a grin and a wave. But Sasuke had already stepped back into the shadows and clamped down on his chakra signature.

Naruto's grin faded into confusion before the others pulled him along behind them toward wherever they were heading.

Sasuke knew without a doubt that Naruto would have dragged him along with the group. The energetic blond certainly wouldn't have felt Sasuke to be a fifth wheel, but …but …Sasuke wasn't ready. Not yet. His pride wouldn't let him "tag along" with the others.

"Can't get a girl, huh?" He muttered to himself. Damn that Hanabi. He'd show her! But who …oh, yes. That would work perfectly.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro had to watch his step. TenTen was three feet in front of him, and after narrowly avoiding the third or forth senbon sunk into the tree branches about where he'd land, he figured she was still angry.

She'd tried to slow down a few times to hiss a few choice comments to him, but every time she did Gaara would look back over his shoulder in worry.

TenTen turned back to glare at him, then sped up next to Gaara. Kankuro stiffened, was she going to tell him that he'd lied?

"Gaara?"

"Are you alright?" The red-head asked gruffly. He was unused to caring about people, and he still wasn't sure how this slight brunette had worked her way into his very small circle of 'family'.

"I'm fine!" TenTen snapped, irritated that everyone seemed to think she was some fragile little doll.

"I told you that you should have come at a slower pace." Gaara frowned. He should have stuck with his original plan, but TenTen had thrown a fit and demanded that they all stay together and go at the faster pace.

Baki looked over at Gaara and whispered. "Hormones are making her irritable."

"It's not hormones!" TenTen sighed. "It's your brother."

"Kankuro?" Baki nodded. "I saw he was making you angry, but you might want to cool off a bit and …"

TenTen gritted her teeth and growled. Both men fell quiet, not wanting to upset the mother-to-be. "I may not be pregnant, in fact I'm pretty sure I'm not. False alarm." She finally said, unable to come right out and say that Kankuro had lied.

To her deep chagrin, both men nodded. "Kankuro told us you weren't sure. But I have to say, you have all the symptoms." Baki said as gently as he could, considering that he was not a gentle man at all. "Irritability, mood swings, puffiness …"

"I AM NOT IRRITABLE!" Screeched TenTen, then dropped her jaw. "Puffy? What do you mean by that? I look PUFFY?"

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru sighed and gathered himself together, steeling his fortitude for the troublesome dinner to come. He stepped into his house and was immediately struck ...by the silence. No arguing. No Yoshino and Yugao trading barbs about everything under the sun. The two women agreed on hardly anything. Except him of course. Both thought he was far too lazy.

The shadow-nin stepped cautiously into the kitchen and eyed his father biting down on a huge sandwhich. Without a napkin. "Mother's not home." He guessed immediately.

"We're on our own tonight." The elder Nara muttered happily around his sandwich. He held up a cup of sake, downed it, then burped. "They went to the movies."

Shikamaru paused, his head half-way in the ice box as he pulled out left-overs. He turned to his dad in stunned disbelief. "Mom and Yugao are at the movies?"

"Yugao?" Shikaku frowned. "No, she's out with Ino's mother. They usually catch a movie every few weeks or so, you know that."

"Oh." Shikamaru sighed and nodded, heading to the table.

Shikaku eyed his son askance. "Aren't you going to heat that?"

"Too troublesome." Grunted Shikamaru.

"You're worse than me." His father shook his head sadly. "So, where is Yugao tonight?"

Shikamaru shrugged as if it didn't matter to him. But as he ate cold soup he did wonder. She'd told him 'bye'. Oh! She'd probably meant she had a mission. That was it.

Certainly. That was it. She'd be back, Shikamaru was sure of it.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino looked up as the bell over the door tinkled merrily. She couldn't have been more shocked if Asuma's ghost had walked into her parent's shop. "Sasuke?"

o.o.o.o.o

**It's a bit shorter tonight, sorry! And no, I'm not apologizing for the cliffhanger. The scene I want to write next I need to think about a bit more first.**

**General note: There might be one more chapter after the conclusion of Day Three. Tying things together and all that, but I won't know until I write Day Three ...so don't hold me to that!**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	44. Tempting Fate

**Continuing Day Two :**

Ino stared at the former missing-nin standing in her parent's flower shop. "Sasuke?" She said again, this time with a bit more bite to it. He'd just been standing there, looking at her, for at least three minutes. It was unnerving to say the least.

Finally, he acknowledged her, gruffly nodding once.

The blonde, starting to lose patience, put down her pencil. "That wasn't a 'Sasuke' it's so nice to see you again. It's a 'Sasuke?' what the hell are you doing here." She smiled bitterly. "Just in case you missed the inflection."

Sasuke nodded again, but this time turning to look around the shop indifferently. But inside, he had no idea what to say or do. Once upon a time, she'd have been crawling all over him to get him to pay attention to her. He guessed that was all gone now.

Ino watched as her former-obsession walked through the shop, finally stopping in front of some roses. She frowned slightly, he would go for the roses of all things.

"I hear you were dating the Kazekage." Sasuke finally said, though Ino had to lean forward to hear him as he was talking very softly.

"No." Ino said bluntly. "That's not true."

A sardonic smile twitched into place as he turned a smoldering dark emotionally laden gaze on her.

Ino's own lips twitched into a sad smile of her own. "You really have only the two looks don't you? Hot or cold, you never know which you'll get."

Sasuke's smile faded slightly around the edges. "It's good you're not seeing Gaara anymore."

The blonde's smile grew as she leaned on the countertop. "Why? So I could see you? That might be dangerous for your health." She warned blithely with a small wave of her hand.

Hearing only the teasing, and not the underlying sarcasm, Sasuke smiled at her as he plucked some long-stem red roses from a display and brought them up to her. "You think you can hurt me?" He whispered darkly, with a hot look and a lazy smile.

Ino laughed so hard she nearly fell down.

The Uchiha's features fell into stony stillness as he watched, unsure of where the joke was but sure that he was the butt of it somehow.

"You!" Ino laughed harder, pointing at him. Finally, when he did nothing but stand there and stare at her coldly, she was able to pull it together enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I …I won't have to hurt you!" She hooted, then struggled to control her giggling once more. "Gaara will squish you with his sand and I won't have to lift a finger."

Sasuke gripped the roses tighter, ignoring the thorns as they poked his fingers. "You said you weren't dating him."

Ino straightened up, her face finally relaxed as she shrugged. "Quote 'I hear you WERE dating the Kazekage'. End quote." Ino cocked her head to one side. "My seeing Gaara is not in the past tense, it's very much a current event."

Two of the rose stems in his hand broke, but he barely seemed to take notice. "Once, all I had to do was look at you and you'd chase me over half of Konoha."

Ino leaned forward. "Don't be shy, I would have chased you over ALL of Konoha. But that was before."

"Before Gaara?"

"No." Ino's smile faded completely. "Before Orochimaru."

The look on her face and the utter disgust in her voice stung. He hadn't thought he'd care what anyone in Konoha thought, not really. Kakashi, Sakura and Naruto maybe. But that was it. Anger boiled up in his stomach as he lashed back. "Gaara? He's the one you're chasing now? Does he like it when you dog his every step? How many times a day does he tell you to shut up? And you think this means he loves you? Grow up."

"You grow up!" Snapped an equally ill-tempered Ino. "Did you think you could sweep in here and I'd fall all over your ass like I did when I was naïve and stupid?"

"You're _still_ naïve and stupid if you think you have a future with the red-haired demon of the Sand." Sasuke bit out the words harshly, gritting his teeth. "He's different …"

"THANK GOODNESS!" Ino screeched, then took a deep calming breath as she stared at Sasuke. "He's as different from you as one can get. And I thank heaven for it every day. You come waltzing in here and expect …what exactly?"

Sasuke sneered as he looked at her. "He's a monster who nearly destroyed the village and almost killed your best friend. If circumstances had been different, he would have feasted on your blood."

Ino sneered back at him. "But that didn't happen, did it? Because someone good and strong and brave fought him. Oh wait, that wasn't you. That was _Naruto_." She stressed the name strongly. "The only friend you really have left in Konoha, and the one I've seen you ignoring for the most part. Besides, Gaara has changed since then. Changed a lot, and all for the better."

"He's not exactly romantic." Sasuke said coldly. "You'll never be happy in the desert."

"And you suddenly care about my well-being?" Ino acted affronted. "Why thank you Sasuke."

He scowled as she mocked him.

"Let me tell you something." Ino leaned forward, her eyes blazing with temper. "You only care about yourself and your future. The only care you have for me is how I fit or don't fit into that future you've mapped out for yourself. Well, let me make it easy on you. Take me out of the equation."

"Fine." He snapped.

"Fine." She sneered. "That will be 3,180 yen for the flowers."

Sasuke tossed the broken roses onto the counter, his voice colder than ice. "You don't want them, so forget it."

"You broke them, so pay up." Ino demanded just as coldly.

Growling, Sasuke thought about fighting it, but didn't want to bother. He pulled the required amount out of his wallet and tossed it at her, some of the money falling on the counter and some on the floor. She didn't even bother to look at it, she was still glaring at him.

"How childish." Was all she said.

Sneering, Sasuke turned to leave the shop. "Gaara will never bring you something as romantic as flowers."

Ino suddenly grinned. Her smile so bright and happy that Sasuke nearly did a double-take. He'd never realized just how pretty she truly was. But in that moment, he felt the bitter sting of loss. Not that he loved her, but something constant in his life was gone. Over. Never to be re-found.

"Oh, I guarantee he'll bring me flowers." Ino breathed out happily, then picked up a broken rose stem. "I also guarantee that he won't be so trite and uncaring to bring me just roses. He'll put some actually thought into it. Roses are usually for the guys without imagination."

He frowned sharply at her.

But Ino wouldn't be deterred. "Men who buy roses for a girl are either deeply and totally in love, or just don't know what else to get." She paused and winked at him. "Guess which category you fall into, Sasuke?"

He growled and slammed out of the shop, not caring where he was going.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru sighed. He picked at his barbeque and vaguely listened as Chouji complained about all the stuff his mother and aunts kept dragging him and Hinata to do and see. The soup he'd had early hadn't filled him, but he didn't seem to have much of an appetite for the barbeque either.

"You okay?" Chouji interrupted his musings to look worried. "You're not catching that fever, are you?"

"I wasn't on that mission." Shikamaru sighed. "Besides, if Tsunade knew that Hinata was discussing mission details with you then she could get in a lot of trouble."

The Akimichi shrugged. "I was with Hinata when Shizune explained about the inoculation shot. Hinata hasn't told me a thing about her mission. We both know the rules."

Grimacing, Shikamaru apologized. "Sorry. I'm in a foul mood for some reason. I don't mean to take it out on you."

Chouji chuckled and took the last piece of barbeque, as usual. He grinned. "You don't know a foul mood until you're stuck with a bunch of women discussing color schemes. Trust me."

Shikamaru pulled a face. "I'm there for you if you ever need me. The dirtier, the more dangerous, the more chance of sure death and I'll back you up without question. But you're on your own with wedding preparations. Sorry."

"Figured." Chouji sighed with patently false surprise. Then he grinned widely. "But you wouldn't believe the alone time Hinata and I can finagle with the words 'planning for the wedding'." He winked.

The shadow-nin sighed and shook his head. "You're pathetic."

"No, I'm in love." His friend corrected him with another smile. "I tried to talk her into eloping, but she figures this is the last gift she can give her father before leaving the Hyuuga clan. And I think she likes seeing how happy this all makes my mother."

Shikamaru sighed and pulled out his wallet, leaving enough for his part of the meal. "Sure you don't want to hit the movies tomorrow? I don't mind if you bring Hinata and snuggle in the back." He lied, but kind of meant it too. He just didn't want to go by himself.

Chouji shook his head. "We're going over to the Yamanaka's to look at flower catalogues tomorrow, sorry."

"Oh." The shadow-nin paused and gave his friend a measured look. "Is this really looking at flowers, or is this 'wedding planning' alone time?"

The Akimichi frowned and pulled out his own wallet. "Unfortunately this is the real thing. But on the plus side, tomorrow the bakeries in town are sending us all sample cakes to try out. Yum! Come over and join us for cake, there will be enough, more than enough!"

Shikamaru sighed and shook his head as he watched his friend for a moment. He was so glad it wasn't him on the end of the marriage hook. Dangling like a fresh-caught trout trying desperately to breathe. He shuddered lightly.

"So." Chouji stood and the two of them made their way out to the street. "No more fangirls?"

"No. Thank heaven." Shikamaru winced at the word 'fangirl'. "Foisted them off onto Sasuke."

"Deserving target." Chouji remarked as he grinned.

Shikamaru smiled in spite of himself. "That was actually nice." He chuckled lightly. "I heard Shizune got tired of hearing them moan and complain though. She pulled them aside and gave them a talk."

"Like that would deter them." Chouji laughed.

Shikamaru shrugged. "They're still annoying and following Sasuke, but not nearly as bad as before. Seems Shizune said that Sasuke would never look lower than a jounin for a girl, and if they wanted him they'd have to be the best kunoichi in the village."

"Which village? Suna or Konoha?"

"Does it matter?" Shikamaru sighed. "Nitwits are working and training hard so that they can be the one to first pass the jounin exam and 'win his love'."

The Akimichi grinned. "Sneaky Shizune."

A flash of blue over by the fruit vendor, had Shikamaru turning his head abruptly.

"What is it?" Chouji asked, looking in the same direction. "Something wrong?"

"No." Shikamaru sighed. "It's nothing." He watched as a woman with a blue scarf bought some melons and wondered why he felt vaguely disappointed.

"Your life is about perfect right now, isn't it?" Chouji said contentedly. "You're single, no fangirls, your mother has given up on pushing you to get married, and it's a beautiful day full of clouds. Nothing troublesome in sight. Perfect."

Shikamaru nodded as the two headed down the street, his hands stuck in his pockets as he slouched along in his usually lazy gait. "Yep. Perfect." He agreed. So why if everything was as he wanted it, did he feel so …unsettled? Maybe he really was coming down with the flu.

o.o.o.o.o

"Maybe we should take a rest break." TenTen said with a hint of worry in her voice as she looked behind her.

Gaara too looked back. "He's tough, he can make it. It's just a limp." He said coolly.

The brunette kunoichi nodded as she eyed her betrothed favoring his left leg. "I was actually thinking about Baki though, the bleeding seems to have stopped for the most part."

The red head looked back again, measuring his former sensei's condition. "I don't think the nose is broken. But he is bruised pretty badly. Though I don't think that there's need to stop when we're making such good time."

From behind them, Kankuro gritted his teeth and pressed forward. Baki chuckled at him. "It's going to be an interesting nine months." The wind master commented dryly as he made sure TenTen was far enough ahead so that she couldn't overhear them. "And now we know. No calling pregnant women 'puffy'."

Ignoring the pang of guilt over his 'little' lie about TenTen's pregnancy, Kankuro just shook his head. "Why go after us? Why not Gaara?"

"She was angry and hormonal. Not suicidal." Baki noted with a smile that ached, he reached up to touch his still sore nose. "And none of us could fight back, not in her condition. Couldn't really risk hurting her."

Kankuro snorted to himself. Her _**condition**_ was a patent lie meant to keep from having to go through a huge wedding. But he couldn't readily admit that, so he let the moment go.

o.o.o.o.o

Kiba groaned with delight as Sakura filled the water basin. "A sponge bath by the prettiest, sexiest girl alive. Man!"

The pink-haired kunoichi laughed and shook her head. "Get your head out of the gutter. You stink!"

The dog-nin pulled at the dry gown, stiff with sweat that had dried on him. "Don't I know it." He complained. "My nose is better than yours, much more sensitive to odors. I've actually had to cut off chakra from my sense of smell just to be able to stay in the same room with myself."

A knock at the door had Sakura frowning slightly as she put the water basin down carefully by the bed on a low table. "Come in?" She called out, distracted as the water sloshed over onto her tunic.

Sasuke watched dispassionately while Kiba frowned sharply at the intruder. "What do you want?" The Inuzuka growled.

"Down boy, good doggie." Sasuke jeered at the bed-ridden shinobi. "I'm not here to sniff around your girl. I just need to ask her something."

"I'm busy right now." Sakura sounded irritated as she wiped up the spilled water. "What is it?"

"In private?" He asked in a formal tone of voice. Haughty.

Sakura shook her head and straightened her tunic. "Forget it, I'm not leaving the room so spill."

"I'm not leaving either." Kiba grinned lopsidedly at Sasuke. "It's my room. Temporarily, of course. Still, you get my point." With that, he let his fangs show in his smile.

Sasuke stared at the two of them a moment, then shrugged. "Forget it."

Sakura sighed and headed toward him. "I'm sorry. Sasuke, what is it?" While her feelings for him had changed significantly since they were all twelve together, he'd still been a huge part of her life. The bond between teammates was stronger than that between most siblings. Or lovers. And while that bond had been stretched to just about breaking, there were still some things one never let go of. "What can I do to help?"

Indecisive, Sasuke just stared at her a moment. Sakura narrowed her eyes on him. Finally he nodded. "I need a date for the Akimichi-Hyuuga engagement party."

Kiba stiffened, then growled. "Like they'd invite you, especially after that fracas with you stalking Hinata."

"They did." Sasuke intoned gruffly. Not mentioning that it had taken some finagling on his part, and he owed a certain elder councilman a huge favor for his invitation. But he was NOT going to show up at Hanabi's house, under her nose, without a date. Her words still rung in his ears about how no woman in the village would have him. She'd even gone so far as to say anyone who would date him would have to be _**desperate**_. He'd show her.

"I'm going with Kiba, but then you'd have already guessed that." Sakura shrugged. "So, what do you want from me?"

Sasuke sighed. Here it was. He bent his pride and looked her in the eye. "A name."

The pink-haired kunoichi looked stunned. "You mean, you want me to pick out your date?" Her face cleared as she suddenly nodded. "You've been away for a long time, you probably want to know which one has the best reputation or something? Who is single and not already seeing someone."

Kiba barked a laugh that turned into a cough. He grinned as Sasuke glowered at him. "He wants a name, any name. He can't find a date on his own."

Sakura shook her head in wonder, then shrugged. "I'm not sure I can help you. Everyone I know is taken basically."

"Or not interested." Kiba needled the Uchiha from the sidelines.

Drawing up proudly, Sasuke ignored the heckling and looked solely at Sakura. "I just need a few names of women of the right age range who aren't married. It won't be hard to get one of them to go with me to the party. It doesn't matter if they're already seeing someone, just that they haven't gotten married yet."

Sakura smiled gently. "I don't know, you were put on the 'undateable' list. You might find it harder than you think." She teased him, not putting any heat behind her words.

But Sasuke, his pride already stinging from earlier, was in no mood. "I don't know, I didn't even have to try to get you and Ino circling around me like magpies for years."

Kiba caught his breath as Sakura slowly stiffened. She glared at her former teammate a moment. "What do you mean by that?"

The Uchiha, though he thought this might be a mistake, couldn't seem to help himself. Hanabi's and Ino's words were still rankling like a sore that wouldn't heal. "I can get any girl I want, I just need you to point me to who is eligible. And leave yourself off, I'm not that desperate."

Sakura caught her breath as inner-Sakura went ballistic. Finally she smiled, but it was an evil, twisted mockery of a smile. "Are you sure?" She said with a sexy little breathless voice. Then she suddenly wrapped her arms around him and kissed him like the world was going to end at any moment.

Kiba's eyes went wide as saucers, but he couldn't protest, he was too shocked.

Sasuke didn't push her away, also startled by her move. Too, his pride felt that this was right and just. The fangirl was only so far beneath the surface after all. He didn't resist, but instead sank into the open-mouthed kiss.

Sakura pulled back after several long moments. Sasuke sneered over at Kiba. But Sakura didn't look like a girl in a romantic daze. Instead she cocked one eyebrow at him and wiped her mouth as she went back to Kiba's bedside. She smiled down at the dog-nin and caught his hand. "Now, two points." She said, looking coldly over at the last Uchiha.

Sasuke's sneer disappeared as he suddenly blinked at her, his body going still. She was up to something.

"Number one. I'd thought Temari had lied or exaggerated, but I was wrong. You are the worst kisser ever. Positively awful. My childhood fantasies have just been crushed beyond all repair."

Kiba suddenly grinned in delight.

"Two? You haven't asked, but I'll tell you. Point number two is that you shouldn't have come in here. Kiba's sick and I've been taking care of him pretty much on my own. He's contagious." She winked at Sasuke and gave him a saucy smile. "And I might be too. Probably am, actually. Idiot."

Sasuke stalked away from the hospital room fuming, Kiba's laughter ringing in his ears.

o.o.o.o.o

**Nearing Day Three y'all! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Gaara is approaching Konoha fast!**

**THANK you to everyone who has been reviewing, I so much appreciate you all. Thank you.**


	45. Early Start

**Early, Day Three :**

Sakura blinked three times in rapid succession when she opened the door to Kiba's room, answering a rather imperative knock. "Somehow, I shouldn't be surprised it's you. Yet somehow, I am surprised after all." She sighed, leaning against the door jamb.

Black eyes stared back at her, but didn't say anything. Instead, Sasuke pushed forward the flowers.

The pink-haired kunoichi took the flowers automatically, before she could think about it. Taking a breath, she sighed. "What?"

"Ino says they are hyacinths, and they mean 'I'm sorry'". Sasuke said, sliding his gaze from hers, unable to quite meet her eyes for too long.

Dumbfounded, Sakura held the flowers and stared at them like they were an unstable exploding tag. "Are there bees or something in here?"

Sasuke actually bit back a chuckle, then shook his head with a pained half-sneer. "No. I'm not Aburame."

"But …but …Sasuke? _You_ don't say I'm sorry, you never have." Her face was almost comical in an expression of abject surprise.

"I've said it twice now. Today actually." Sasuke sighed as he watched her raise the flowers to her nose and sniff suspiciously. "Oh, for crying out loud, they're not poisonous! It's just a peace offering, and an apology."

Sakura actually gifted him with a grin. "Just checking." Then she narrowed her eyes on him.

Sasuke blew out an exasperated breath. "What now?"

The kunoichi shrugged, shaking her head. "Just checking your chakra signature to make sure you're not really Naruto trying to get Sasuke back in my good graces."

The completely real Sasuke nodded absently as if that scenario made perfect sense. Then again, with Naruto you never knew. Looking behind her, he sniffed. "Why isn't dog-boy growling at me yet?"

"He's still asleep." Sakura said, then yawned and laughed as she apologized. "I actually just got here myself."

Dark eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her oddly. "I thought you said you were contagious. They're going to let you go home at night?"

"Might. MIGHT be contagious, and it's only the garden variety flu. It goes around whether I head home or not. Kiba's just here because he developed a secondary lung infection. That's no longer contagious so you're safe from that at least." She winked at him. "Though you could still come down with the flu in a couple of days."

"Oh." He nodded and turned to leave.

Sakura called out after him. "Thank you for the apology. And the flowers. Though they do smell funny for plain hyacinths." She paused. "Are you sure you didn't poison them somehow?"

"Very funny." He growled, turning around to shake his head at her. "It's probably the mint that Ino slipped into the bouquet. She says it's meant to ward off illness."

Sakura nodded and watched him disappear down the hallway. As an apology, it wasn't a great one. Oh, the flowers were nice enough, but he'd never said just exactly what he was sorry for. Still, Sakura smiled, since she knew her former teammate so well, she knew that this was huge for him. _Huge_!

She walked into the hospital room to hear Kiba snort and turn, a snore coming from him. Sakura grinned at him. "You can stop pretending now."

Dark eyes blinked open and he grinned at her. "Morning."

"Don't you 'morning' me. You've been awake the whole time." She chided him gently as she leaned in and brushed his hair off his forehead to give him a quick kiss.

"Move those lips down a few inches, please?" Kiba whined, angling his head upwards for a real kiss. "You told Uchiha-jerk himself that the lung infection is no longer contagious. And you've already been exposed to the flu."

"It's not germs I'm worried about." She giggled and went over to the small sink and tossed him his toothbrush. "It's morning breath!"

Kiba laughed and then his laughter turned into a spasm of coughing, that drew a frown from her. "I thought you were on the mend?"

"Some medic you are." He complained, holding his ribs to try and minimize the ache. "Tsunade said that while the infection is clearing up, there's still a lot of gunk in my lungs. I'm fine, but only until I try to laugh."

"Oh." Sakura blushed, knowing she should have already realized that. She turned and nearly dropped the flowers in her hand as she spun around and faced Kiba, a shocked expression on her face.

"What?" He asked, rubbing his left side as he winced.

"Sasuke said this was his _**second**_ apology today." Sakura whispered. Then she held up her flowers. "And he said that he got these from Ino, she's the one who put the mint in with them."

Kiba's eyes grew wide. "Sasuke apologized to you and Ino both?"

Sakura nodded mutely. The dog-ninja whistled under his breath. "Do you think the world is coming to an end?"

Suddenly Sakura giggled. "Sure, why not. Sasuke apologized? It's GOT to be the end of life as we know it!"

o.o.o.o.o

The man was asleep one moment, then suddenly awake the next. But he moved not a muscle, knowing with some deep intuition that he was being observed. His mind raced, but as he slowly recalled the events of the night before, Ibiki began to relax.

He opened one dark eye and found that he was right in his guess. Shunin was indeed standing beside the bed, glaring at him. "W'ere momma!" The imperious voice sounded like a siren.

Ibiki winced and poked the woman by his side. "It's for you." Rolling over to go back to sleep.

Kurenai groaned and pulled the covers up over her head. Ibiki grinned wickedly. "Wear you out did I?" A quick three sharp jabs in the ribs was her only response.

Wincing, Ibiki grabbed his pants and slipped them on beneath the covers as he smiled down at Shunin. "Momma's sleeping. You want some milk?"

"MILK!" Shunin shouted, jumping up for emphasis, his blanket clutched in one hand and a pillow shaped like a dinosaur in the other.

"Or how about some chocolate cake?" Ibiki offered slyly as he rubbed his aching ribs. "I think there's some left over."

Shunin's eyes got big. "Cake?" He whispered, then it suddenly became a litany. "Cake! Cake! CAKE! CAKE! CAKE! **CAKE!**"

The covers over Kurenai shifted slightly. Ibiki winked at Shunin, though the toddler was too young to understand. "And sake. Or wine? Which one do you want for breakfast?" He teased, knowing the boy's mother could hear every word.

"CAKE!" Demanded the young toddler, ignoring the other offers as unknown items, and thus suspicious. He stuck with what he knew. "CAKE!"

The muffled voice sounded vaguely amused from beneath the covers. "You've done it now."

Ibiki grinned as he got up scratching his belly as he watched Shunin romp happily toward the kitchen still shouting 'cake' over and over again. "I'm going to hype him up on sugar before I go in to interrogate a poor sap today. Then I'm going to leave him here for you to handle. That'll teach you to poke me in the ribs."

Yawning, the ANBU torture division leader padded on bare feet to the kitchen to see Shunin had already pulled his toy box into the kitchen and was standing on it to reach the counter top. "CAKE!" The boy screeched, reaching vainly for the covered plate which was only barely out of reach.

"Chocolate cake coming right up!" Ibiki grinned and reached for some plates and utensils. He heard Kurenai yawn as she entered the kitchen behind him.

"You're going to regret this." The pretty brunette promised as she went about getting her son some milk.

Ibiki grinned. "No, you're going to regret this." He vowed as he opened the cover and then his face fell as Shunin screamed with anger.

Kurenai peered at the empty plate. "I ate the last piece around three this morning." She informed him with a sweet, sweet smile.

Ibiki frowned as Shunin started to throw a fit on the kitchen floor. He looked down at the kid in horror. "What's he doing?"

"You promised him cake." Kurenai told him, going up to kiss Ibiki on the cheek before picking up her temper-tantrum throwing child. "Until he gets the cake promised him, this is what we've got to work with."

Ibiki watched snot roll down Shunin's red and screaming face as he went from temper to sorrow, crying like someone had kicked him. The toddler clung to his mother, weeping as if he'd been hurt somehow. The boy was mumbling and crying and only one word was recognizable. _Cake_.

The ANBU shinobi sighed and went to get dressed. And to get his wallet. "I guess I have to run to the market for another cake."

Kurenai winced as her son rubbed his snotty nose on her hair. "Yeah, I'd say that's a good guess. As a stay over guest, I'm sure you realize you're off to a rollicking good start." She said with a sneer. "Although you got part of that wrong."

Ibiki groaned as he walked back into living room. Kurenai grabbed his wallet from his hand and shoved Shunin into his startled arms. A wailing bundle of joy squirmed and kicked, knocking his head into the underside of Ibiki's jaw. "OUCH!" He yelped. "I b't my t'ngue!"

"Serves you right." Kurenai grinned. "And just for the record. YOU get to stay here with Shunin, while I get to go out into the peace and quiet to get him the cake that YOU promised him." With that, she headed to the bedroom to get dressed.

Ibiki bounced Shunin a bit, but the boy wasn't quite finished. His cries had faded and were even now muffled in the shinobi's shirt. "Are you done yet?"

Shunin's little head rose up, his eyes dark and as menacing as a toddler's could get. "CAKE!" He shrieked in a piercing tone.

"No cake! You get milk. NO CAKE!" Ibiki said in his sternest, scare the poor pitiful prisoner, voice.

Shunin's little elbow knocked him in the nose as he screamed. "CAKE!"

Ibiki sighed. "That's what I thought." He bemoaned to himself.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino wiped down the countertop in the kitchen as her mother carried their breakfast plates to the table. Inoichi looked up with a smile and a wink for his only daughter. Her brothers were roughhousing until her mother gave them a stern look and everyone settled down.

The blonde kunoichi looked at her family and wondered. How long before she'd see them again? Would the boys be the same? She looked at the clock in the kitchen. According to her estimate from her note that she'd gotten from Suna, Gaara would be arriving today, probably early evening. Tomorrow if there were any delays.

Ino sighed and got a look from her mother. Plastering a smile on her face, she joined the rest of the family for breakfast.

Yamanaka Chiyo was not fooled by the fake smile her daughter was sporting. She too looked at the clock. She just hoped the red-head from the desert felt the same way about Ino as the girl felt about him. Otherwise, she'd be picking up the pieces of her daughter's heart. And unlike the crushes on Sasuke or Shikamaru, this one she felt would be serious.

Oblivious to the undercurrents, Inoichi calmly ate his eggs in peace.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade scowled at the two nervous men. "Kotetsu? Izumo? Why the hell are you here?"

Kotetsu cleared his throat. "Here metaphorically? Why do any of us know the reason for our being alive in the first place, much less why we are placed in certain locations … OUCH!"

"Serves you right." Tsunade grumbled as she watched the man cradle his shoulder. "And I hope you didn't break my paperweight with your body, otherwise I'll be _really_ pissed off."

Izumo bit his tongue and tried to keep out of the Hokage's way.

"Where's Shizune?" Tsunade asked in a very annoyed tone of voice.

Kotetsu looked at Izumo, who only looked away like a coward. Finally, Kotetsu sighed and answered. "She's sick, asked us to cover."

"Oh really?" An evil glint sparked within the Hokage's eyes. "Then isn't it damned lucky that I'm a top notch medical ninja. Let's go!"

Kotetsu and Izumo watched her storm out of the office, both wondering if there was any way to warn Shizune that they were coming. A crash out in the office had them wincing and deciding that the Hokage's usual assistant was on her own with this one.

o.o.o.o.o

Sasuke watched for several long moments in growing alarm. He'd come down here, not to apologize, no just to …visit. What Ino had said yesterday had struck a chord in him. Naruto _**was**_ his only real friend. The only bond he'd ever had that had not been stretched so far that it broke or cracked. He knew that Kakashi and Sakura still cared for him, but they were cautious around him, still hurt. Naruto? The blond had accepted him back not only with open arms, but without reservations.

Yet Sasuke had been avoiding him, maybe because he'd not been ready to face his past. So this morning he'd decided to go looking for the blond knucklehead. And he'd found him in the first place he'd looked too, their old training field.

"Naruto? Dobe?" Sasuke said, then yelled right into the blond's ear as Naruto sat near those three posts that had heralded the beginning of their training years ago.

"I wouldn't." The sardonic voice had Sasuke whipping around in surprise. Then he sighed. "I didn't think you could sneak up on me anymore."

"Once you think like that, then you leave yourself open to disappointment." Kakashi said, lowering his book slightly as his one visible eye crinkled in amusement. "Leave him alone, he's training."

Startled, Sasuke eyed Naruto carefully. "No he's not. He's just sitting there, staring off into space. Are you sure nothing is wrong with him?" Absently he waved his hand in front of the blond shinobi. There was no reaction. Nothing moved. Nothing.

"He's practicing his senjutsu." Kakashi yawned and turned the page in his book.

Now Sasuke sneered. "He doesn't have any genjutsu. Besides, even if he trains every day he'll never catch up to the Uchiha level with …wait, did you say senjutsu? You're making that up."

Kakashi shook his head 'no'.

Sasuke nodded.

Kakashi shrugged and went back to reading his book.

"No." The Uchiha stated, then looked down at Naruto in wonder. "Orochimaru said the sage arts were dead."

"Only because he couldn't find anyone to teach him, and no way to steal them. Jiraiya knew them quite well." Kakashi said softly, he too turning his head to look at Naruto sitting absolutely still. "Now Naruto trains with those who trained the Toad Hermit."

Sasuke's dark eyes widened almost comically. "Who?" Jiraiya had been one of the legendary sannin, and he knew that the Fourth Hokage had trained THOSE particular students. But the Fourth was long dead, so who was now training Naruto?

"The frogs and toads."

"No really." Sasuke scoffed.

Kakashi just stared at him a long moment until Sasuke swallowed hard and stepped away from Naruto. "He really is training then?"

"Something to do with the balance of nature's chakra in addition to those we already use." Kakashi nodded. "This is but one of the training methods. The safest actually. I don't understand it all, but Narurto would never sit completely still unless it was for something like training."

Sasuke snorted in agreement as he stared hard at Naruto. He could sense nothing. "I don't feel any 'nature' chakra." He said dubiously.

"You're not trained in senjutsu." The copy-nin sighed and put down his book. "For that matter, I can't feel it either. But I've seen Naruto use it to great effect. He's still a novice though. Thus the need to train."

Sasuke fell silent a moment, then opened his mouth. Before he could speak, Kakashi interrupted him. "No. I can't learn it. The Uchiha eyes can pick up any hand signs or movements, but without the 'nature' chakra? We can't use senjutsu. And before you even think it, the answer is no again. The toads won't teach either one of us."

"Why not?" Sasuke frowned sharply.

"I smell like dog and you smell like snake." Kakashi smiled through his mask. "We've made contracts with different summons than the toads. And as far as I know, since I asked, the nin-dogs have no patience to learn the senjutsu arts. And the snakes? The toads only laughed when I asked about them."

"Oh." Sasuke settled down, though the next time he summoned a snake he'd be getting some more information on this senjutsu training.

"Why are you out here?" Kakashi asked bluntly, even going so far as to put away his book and face Sasuke directly.

Sasuke waved his hand in front of Naruto's open eyes again, and again got no response. "Is he in a trance?"

"No." The copy-nin looked over at the blond shinobi as well. "He can hear and see everything. I think the point is to become completely still and NOT be in a trance state. Everything has to be utterly still. I don't know how it connects with the senjutsu training, but it does."

"So he can hear me?" Sasuke nodded and raised his voice. "I came out to see him. I thought we could train some together, or go out for ramen later. Something."

"He's right in front of you, you don't have to yell." Kakashi nodded, then paused a long moment. "I hear through the grapevine you apologized to both Ino and Sakura earlier this morning."

"News travels faster than ninja do." He mumbled. Defiantly, Sasuke straightened up and faced his former sensei, "So?"

"That's a huge step forward." Kakashi nodded. "I was going to take away a few hundred honor points for being a jerk …"

"_A few hundred_?" Sasuke sputtered. "I only have fourteen!"

"Negative numbers." The copy-nin waved off the interruption. "But with the apologies and coming to see Naruto …I think I'll award you some points instead."

Sasuke drew back slightly. "Oh?"

"Half a million." Kakashi said, jumping down from his perch on the rock.

Blinking, Sasuke wasn't sure he'd heard right. "You've been doling them out in small numbers, why the huge jump?"

"An actual apology? To a kunoichi? To two of them?" Kakashi widened his visible eye in mock surprise. "That required a correspondingly big number."

A bare shadow of a smile played briefly on Sasuke's lips. "So, I'm over half way to your goal of one million."

"Yep. Now don't blow it." Kakashi walked up to Naruto speculatively. "He asked me to come down here and say some things in order to test how still he can sit. He thinks he's achieved a new level and nothing I can say will shock him out of being 'still'."

Sasuke eyed Naruto as well. "Well, he heard that I apologized to Ino and Sakura. If that didn't get a response, I don't know what will. Unless you pull down your mask so he has to turn his head to see what you really look like." The Uchiha dared him.

"Naw." Kakashi shook his head. "Nothing that huge. But how about the name of my date to the Akimichi-Hyuuga engagement party?" Kakashi asked lightly.

Sasuke stilled and a bead of sweat formed over Naruto's brow. "You have a date?"

"I've been seeing someone for a while now." Kakashi said and then leaned down and whispered one word into the blond's ear.

Then both men watched, amused as tension slowly mounted up in Naruto's muscles. No movement, but they could see the strain to remain still. More sweat drops formed and fell down the blond shinobi's face. The tension turned into tremors and the tremors suddenly exploded as Naruto jumped up, his fist cocked back.

"IRUKA? Iruka-sensei?" Naruto screeched, appalled.

Kakashi grinned.

Sasuke laughed. "He's only pulling your leg. I can't believe you fell for that. Dobe."

"No I'm not." Kakashi assured them both, grinning like a banshee underneath his mask.

"HOW COULD YOU?!" Naruto yelped, his face turning red.

"You're not?" Sasuke's voice nearly broke in shock as he stared at the infamous copy-nin. "What?"

"How could I what?" Kakashi looked stonily at Naruto. "You disapprove?"

Naruto shook his fist at his teammate. "You're …if you're just toying with him I'll hurt you! He's a decent guy and you ….you've never been serious about a wom …er, anyone in your whole life! If you hurt Iruka-sensei, even a little bit, I will hunt you down and take you apart on a cellular level."

Relaxing slightly, Kakashi nodded. "So noted. And for the record, I'm impressed. You actually used the word 'cellular' in a sentence …and did it correctly. The toads must really be a good influence on you. Not bad for a guy who once called chakra 'catra'."

"You and …Iruka?" Sasuke was still staring, still unsure if this was a joke or not.

"Though, Naruto …you did lose on the whole being 'still' thing no matter _what_ I said. I believe you bet me a bowl of ramen? I'll collect later."

Before either of the younger shinobi could respond again however, Kakashi flash-stepped completely out of the area.

Sasuke was still staring at the space that Kakashi had just vacated. Finally though, he turned to stare at his former teammate. "Naruto?"

The blond was still fuming and kicking at stones in the dirt.

"Naruto?" Sasuke tried again, then roughly cleared his throat. "You've been around Jiraiya a long time, surely you've heard that men can sometimes …"

"Idiot!" The blond rounded on him, furious. "It's not who he's seeing, it's WHO he's seeing!"

Sasuke blinked, unsure.

"Iruka is so naïve!" Naruto sputtered. "Kakashi? He's never done long-term relationships before. What if he breaks Iruka's heart?"

Over in the trees, hidden from the two younger shinobi two men watched and listened anxiously. Finally the shorter man relaxed. "I thought he'd react differently."

Kakashi shook his head. "No, that's perfect Naruto for you."

Iruka nodded. "So …how does it feel being cast in the role of heart-breaker?"

Kakashi snickered and the two men beat a hasty retreat.

o.o.o.o.o

"No." The word was cold. Harsh. Final.

Hanabi didn't even blink. "Hear my reasoning."

"I've made my decision. You will not be bringing that Uchiha to your own sister's engagement party." Hiashi bit out the words sternly.

But his youngest child seemed unfazed by his tone. "That would be a mistake. Though I will of course abide by your decision."

Hiashi nodded then frowned. He stared at his heir a long moment. "Fine. What possible reasons would mitigate this idea of yours into something that even resembles a 'good' plan?"

"Will you be making Hinata your heir?" Hanabi asked. "Neji?" She didn't even wait for him to react before holding up one hand. "I'm your heir and your only viable option now that you've focused all your training, political as well as physical, into me."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "I didn't teach you that tone of voice."

"Only by example." She said coolly, but kept any bite of temper out of her voice.

The Hyuuga clan leader waited, but when she didn't expound on that he waved at her to continue. While not acting exactly respectful, she wasn't acting childish so he decided to hear her out.

"I'm not a male heir." Hanabi pointed out smoothly. "I can not expect to be thrown the cream of the crop in the marriage market. No clan that we would look toward would want their son and heir to give up his name for that of Hyuuga. No clan would cut off their best shinobi and seal their abilities so that the children of such a union would be Hyuuga."

Hiashi's eyes narrowed. He was well aware of this, in fact he rather chafed at the whole situation. It would have been so much easier if fate had delivered him a son instead of two daughters. Still, as he eyed his youngest, he couldn't help but feel a bit of pride for how she handled herself.

"So. Only second sons will be offered. Or heirs, but only of lesser families." She continued.

"I had an offer for you from Lord Tokkei, for his youngest." He said quietly.

Hanabi sneered and Hiashi nodded, he agreed with her assessment on that offer. "Minor nobility? It would be a great offer, if Lord Tokkei wasn't a fool and nearly bankrupt. And his sons don't look to be much of an improvement. I would never do that to the Hyuuga clan."

Hiashi grunted his agreement. "I already turned him down. Politely of course."

"Of course." Hanabi smiled at her father. "But Sasuke is not only an heir, he has money. And despite his history, he's no fool."

"Yes, yes …and he's willing to be sealed and give up his Uchiha name. Yes, I know." Hiashi growled. "But you have yet to convince me this is a good match."

"You're not the only one who reads the archives." Hanabi continued calmly. "The Sharingan is derived from the Byakugan. In fact, there were several wars over this. And it's one of the reasons that the curse seal came into effect, to keep the clan's bloodline limits to the Hyuuga and only the Hyuuga. The Sharingan, essentially, is stolen property."

Hiashi shook his head, though he did look slightly intrigued. "Ancient history. And we Hyuuga signed contracts when Konoha was formed not to attack or seek to subsume the Sharingan. And they us."

Hanabi nodded, knowing she had turned the corner and he was really interested now. "Ah, but we are not seeking to subsume the Sharingan. Sasuke came to you first. He offered to take the Hyuuga name. He offered to seal his abilities from reaching future generations." As she spoke, she struggled not to blush or her father would know her arguments weren't based solely on practical reasons. But also because Sasuke was so darned cute!

Thinking this over, the clan leader finally pursed his lips and shook his head. "No, you are too young."

"And this would be not a date, he would only be my escort to Hinata's party. Not to mention that we'd be extremely well chaperoned as this will be on Hyuuga property." Hanabi pushed forward, seeing an opening. "There is also the fact that this could garner us favor among the Elder Council. They've been wanting the Uchiha to settle down, make attachments. And we do have that land vote coming up before the council next month, yes?"

Hiashi felt mild surprise as he eyed his heir carefully. "You've been thinking this over quite a bit." He said almost mildly. A long moment passed before he nodded. "I give you my permission."

Hanabi didn't smile, she didn't dare as she made her leave from her father's study. Hiashi, once alone, chuckled to himself. "Such a well thought out plan." He muttered to himself. "But does she think she's really fooling me? Silly female crushes."

Picking up his pen though, Hiashi stopped and went over and over her arguments. "Still. She made some good points. I'll have to consider this more carefully."

o.o.o.o.o

Kurenai was taking a leisurely stroll back to her apartment with the promised chocolate cake when she stopped and started grinning. "My, my …"

When she got back home, the door was wrenched open before she could even get her key in the lock. A wailing Shunin was sitting on top of Ibiki's shoulders. Around the living room was strewn every toy that the toddler possessed. "CAKE!"

Ibiki's left eye twitched as he looked at her. "Where did you go for that damned cake, Suna?"

"DAM CAKE! DAM CAKE!"

Kurenai smiled at the two men in her life. "Still glad you finally got to stay over last night?"

Ibiki paused, his head ringing with pain as he looked at her. Kurenai's red eyes flashed with mirth …and heat. He grinned. "Oh yeah."

"Good." She said as they made their way to the kitchen and she sliced up a small portion of chocolate cake for her son.

"He'll want more than …" The words were no sooner out of his mouth than Shunin wolfed down the small piece of cake and then made a beeline for the television set. "What the?"

"It's time for his favorite show." Kurenai laughed. "Not even cake could win out over THAT!" She pointed as some music started playing and Shunin began to brokenly sing the theme song.

The genjutsu specialist put away the cake and poured some milk.

"Er …I tried to get him to drink some earlier, but he …."

"MILK!"

Ibiki stared at the now calm child reaching up for his milk glass. Kurenai handed it to him. "T'ank You!" The boy yelled as he ran back toward his show.

"It's all in the timing." Kurenai laughed at the chagrinned expression on her lover's face. "Though you did throw it all off this morning, saying the C.A.K.E. word."

"What a disaster that was." Moaned Ibiki as he sat down at the table and cut himself a huge piece of chocolate cake. What the hell, it sounded good right now to him.

Kurenai laughed. "Speaking of disasters. Can you image why Shizune would be running down the street with Tsunade chasing after her?"

Ibiki paused and stared at her. "What?"

"Kotetsu was on the Hokage's back trying to slow her down while Izumo was giggling like a fool and following behind."

"Really?" Ibiki's mood picked up slightly.

Kurenai cut herself a generous portion of cake. What the hell, she'd burned off a lot of calories last night …thanks to Ibiki of course! "And Gai was pulling on his boots while covered in what I could swear was Slug slime."

Ibiki's eyes went wide. "The Hokage summoned her slugs on GAI?"

"Oh, if Shunin had only woken us up earlier, what a sight we might have seen!" Giggled Kurenai as she bit down into the luscious chocolaty goodness of her cake.

o.o.o.o.o

**Several things to mention. Naruto's senjutsu training regimen is loosely taken from current Manga chapters. VERY Loosely.**

**Gaara will be arriving in the next chapter. It would have been this one, but it was running too long. No worries, as soon as I post this I'm continuing to write. I won't guarantee it will be up today …but I'm hoping.**

**Sasuke. Agree with me or not, but it's been fun putting him through the wringer. Still, even stone gives way to erosion and the hardest skull will sometimes learn a lesson. I think he's making a turn for the better ….**

**The Sharingan and Byakugan history I used is LOOSELY based on something mentioned in the anime during the chuunin exams. When the Byakugan was being described for the first time (Neji and Hinata's fight) it was mentioned that the Sharingan had its origins somehow within the Byakugan. With only that to go on, I used it in this fiction …but it is NO way to be taken as canon.**

**THANK you!**


	46. Spiderflowers

**Day Three :**

It was still rather early when Gaara sighed with relief as they spied the gates of Konoha. They'd not made the best time, even with only short breaks and traveling through the night. Making the trek from Suna to Konoha could only go so fast when you had a wagon slowing you down. Still, they would arrive much earlier than they'd be expected.

TenTen groaned. "One hot bath coming right up!"

Kankuro groaned and avoided getting into his betrothed's line of fire. "Hot food."

Baki made no sound as he anxiously watched his Kazekage. Gaara looked so relaxed one moment, then tense the next. He knew that the red-head was glad to finally get to the Leaf Village, and he thought he knew the reason for the tension as well. How would Ino react to his arrival? Was the girl really as anxious to be together as Gaara seemed to be? Baki prayed this was the case.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikamaru stopped in mid-stride, he looked over at Aoba talking to a certain blue-haired kunoichi. So. Yugao wasn't away on a mission after all. She'd just not been around him. The shadow ninja didn't even think about it as his feet changed direction.

Yugao noticed him right off, but didn't hurry away. "Ossu." She greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Ossu." He returned the greeting as it was given.

She smiled at him and waited. When he didn't speak, she raised one eyebrow. "Did you need something?"

"No." Shikamaru said, then blinked as she smiled and wished him a good day before turning back to Aoba. He wandered away, having forgotten his original destination. _Had he needed something?_ Surely not. He was happy she was no longer over at his house, stirring up trouble and fighting with his mother. Happy. Yeah, he was happy.

Yugao kept track of the shadow shinobi as he walked away, a secret smile playing over her lips as she listened to Aoba explain something dull and repetitive about a long ago battle strategy.

The blue-haired kunoichi had to hand to Yoshino. The women knew her men, or at least, Nara males. The trick to landing a certain shadow shinobi? Make him chase you, or at least think he's chasing you.

With a small pang she wondered why in the world she was going out of her way to garner the interest of such a lazy guy. Yugao bit her lip and turned her attention back to the hapless Aoba. Shikamaru was intriguing. A puzzle. That's all. Yeah, that was all.

o.o.o.o.o

"You know, you don't have to go with me." Kiba groused as he packed up his stuff. "I know that the Suna group is supposed to get here sometime early tonight and you'll want to be on hand with Ino when they arrive."

Sakura sighed and wrapped her arms around him from behind, resting her cheek on his back. She hugged him, but at the same time listened intently to the gurgling sound of his lungs. "You're not completely well yet."

"I'm well enough to go home and get better there instead of here." Kiba whined then growled at her as she let him go to grab his travel pack before he could. "I can carry that."

"Humor me." She snapped. "You're too stubborn to stay here, and I'm too stubborn to let you carry this." Her green eyes narrowed on him. "Or are you going to say I'm not strong enough …" She let her voice fade out.

Kiba held up his hands as if to fend her off. "Since training with Tsunade, you're stronger than anyone I know. I …I just don't want you to see me weak is all."

Sakura grinned and dropped the pack, stepping closer to him to run her fingers through his hair. She sniffed, glad she'd gotten a chance to wash it this morning before he'd decided he wasn't sick anymore and it was time to go home. "I don't want you to go home before you're ready, your lungs still sound awful."

Kiba laughed which then turned into a harsh cough before he was able to catch his breath. He looked up to see Sakura frowning with worry. He shrugged and tried to lighten the moment. "Are you sure it's not that you can't stay with me all the time if I'm at home?"

Sakura's expression froze and Kiba's eyes went wide. "Ah baby. You can still come sit with me and hold my hand. My mother will be glad that she doesn't have to take care of me. She's not exactly known for her gentle nursing manners."

The pink-haired kunoichi blushed furiously and slapped at his hand when he reached for her. "That's not it at all!" She lied, embarrassed to be caught out like that.

Kiba grinned, though he didn't really feel that good. Not really. He needed to get home before this burst of energy faded. "Sakura …." He drew out her name like a caress. "My senses are going crazy locked up in here. It smells AWFUL."

She knew his sense of smell was highly acute, but she also knew he'd cut off chakra to his nose, making things more bearable.

Kiba whined and reached for her again. "Come on, please? Take me home?"

Unable to resist the melting look in his dark eyes, she caved and picked up his travel pack. He didn't fight her, a little embarrassed that it might actually be too much for him to handle right now. He felt weaker than a kitten.

Suddenly, Sakura sneezed. They eyed each other and waited, but no other sneezes followed.

Kiba swallowed hard. "Maybe someone's just talking about you?" He suggested, hoping she'd not really caught the flu from him.

The pink-haired girl nodded, grabbing at the weak excuse. "Yeah. That's all it is. I feel fine." She lied to both of them.

o.o.o.o.o

"Ino? Will you watch the shop downstairs for me?" Yamanaka Chiyo called out. "I have a meeting with your young friends about their wedding flowers."

"Sure mom!" Ino grinned brightly as she put down the book she'd only been pretending to read. She was a bundle of nervous energy, waiting for Gaara to arrive. And unsure of what she'd find when he did. They'd been apart for so long! Would it be the same?

Chiyo watched her daughter anxiously and hoped that things turned out well with her young man. She then turned to the task of getting Inoichi out from under her hair today. She did NOT need her husband stumbling about trying to help, but only making things worse.

"She'll be fine." The blond shinobi said, frowning over at his wife. "The Kazekage will come back and they'll find out that they have nothing in common after all. The separation was the best thing to do in my opinion."

Chiyo plastered on a smile and nodded as if she agreed with her husband. "I'm glad you're here today. I'm going to need your help." She said with an absentminded air.

"Oh?" Inoichi paused, suspicious.

"Yes." Chiyo sighed and widened her eyes at him innocently. "I pulled out the catalogues for the Hyuuga girl and Chouji to go through, but I forgot that I asked Yoshino and Asami to come over this morning later and I'm not going to have time to do the shopping for tonight AND clean up the downstairs." She baited her hook, then set the line. "Could you help me out and dust the living room and pull out the …"

"Why don't you do that?" Inoichi hurried to interject. "And I'll go to the market for you, just give me a list."

Chiyo pretended to think that over, then shook her head. "No, no …it's too far. I need to go down to the port town for fresh eel. I want to make something special for Ino's young man."

Inoichi put down his paperwork and scowled. "I thought we agreed to try and nip this relationship off? I'm sure he's changed a lot since he helped invade Konoha, but he's still …"

"Still what?" Chiyo narrowed her eyes sharply on her husband. "I like him."

"Still a foreigner! Do you want your little girl to go teach or work in Suna for almost half a year? No. I forbid it." Inoichi sat back, still frowning. "She'll get there, find out she's not in love and then be stuck out in the desert."

Ino's mother sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. But then …that's why I want you to stay here today and clean while I go to the market after finishing up with the Hyuuga flower choices. What if the Suna group gets here sooner than anticipated?" She lied smoothly.

"Oh don't be silly." Inoichi said, getting irritated. "Besides, I hate cleaning. Just give me the list and I'll go get your stuff from the market."

Chiyo did her best to look undecided instead of victorious. Finally she reached into her apron and pulled out a long list.

Inoichi eyed the number of ingredients and sighed. "What is all this for?"

"Your favorite eel dish, then I decided to also do my grandmother's stew in case that Gaara doesn't like eel." She deliberately teased her husband by naming his two favorite dishes.

His mouth suddenly watering, he smiled. "Now that sounds good. I'll go to the market and get all this for you, and you get the house ready. You'll see, it'll be fine. Besides, they won't get here early and if they do, it will be this afternoon not this morning. I'll be back in plenty of time."

Chiyo nodded as she watched him leave. Sure, he'd be back in time for Gaara's arrival, but at least he was out from under her feet and no longer making unhelpful comments to Ino.

She sighed and shook her head as she hurried to tidy up her kitchen before Hinata and Chouji showed up. "Who's the REAL mind manipulation expert in the house? Not the big, bad shinobi!" She patted herself on the back briefly, then began to pull out flower catalogues.

o.o.o.o.o

"You didn't have to summon your slugs on Gai!" Shizune huffed, her arms crossed and her foot bouncing with temper as she sat at her desk.

Tsunade grinned evilly. "Oh come on, those were only baby slugs!"

"They were the size of a horse!" Shizune protested.

The Hokage shrugged. "They're new and had been complaining that I haven't needed them much lately, they wanted to play!"

The spiky-haired jounin swallowed hard and bit back an oath. Finally she calmed enough to speak. "I'll never get the slug slime out of my bathroom."

"Then you shouldn't have played hooky with Gai." Tsunade's brows snapped together menacingly.

"I wasn't playing hooky!" Shizune yelled, then coughed harshly. A sneeze followed.

Tsunade sat back, a bit stunned. "Stop faking."

"I caught Kiba's damned flu." Her assistant said snidely. "I wasn't feeling well and Gai came by to check on me. He was running the bath for me! That's all."

The blonde shook her head, not sure she was buying it. "So …you're not sleeping with my Mighty Green Beast?"

To her utter surprise, Shizune's face fell as she looked away.

Tsunade slammed her feet onto the ground and sat forward, shocked. "You're really not sleeping with him, are you?"

"I'm not answering that." Shizune said, rubbing her temples. "Now, if you don't mind, I think I'll go throw up now."

"Girl!" Tsunade followed her assistant to the small private bathroom and wet a washcloth. She waited until Shizune was done and handed it to her. "What the hell are you waiting for? You've had a crush on him since we came back to Konoha."

Shizune mumbled and wiped her mouth. She stood and reached for the mouthwash since she didn't have a toothbrush here.

"What was that?" The Hokage persisted.

Shizune looked downright mean as she turned her angry gaze on the blonde. "He's waiting, not me."

Shocked, Tsunade just stared at her. "What is he waiting for, marriage?"

Shizune nodded as she grimaced and suddenly hurried back over to the toilet.

"Damn girl." Tsunade whispered. "I'm sorry about the slug slime." Then winced as she listened to her assistant's misery. "And you better not give me that damned flu or you'll get worse than a bit of slug residue!"

"Ahem?" Kotetsu stood at the door, his eyes wary. "A message from the gate, the contingent from Suna has arrived."

Tsunade beat a hasty retreat from the bathroom, straightening her white robe of office. "They're early. They'll probably check in here first before going to their apartments. Go fetch some refreshments."

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen stopped in the middle of the street. "Gaara? Your guest apartment is down this way."

The red-head didn't even stop. Baki and Kankuro looked at each other, not sure what to say. Finally, the kunoichi clucked her tongue. "Fine, we can go straight to Ino's and all, but shouldn't you at least shower first? We all stink of the road."

Gaara halted, then turned back to give her a glare.

"Well we do." She smiled at him. "Sorry. Just a quick shower and then you can go right over. You don't want to stink so badly she can't smell the flowers you brought her, do you?"

Gaara growled while Kankuro and Baki watched, then dropped his shoulders in surrender. "Ten minutes." Was all he said as he turned and headed for the apartments set aside for visiting dignitaries.

"And shouldn't you check in with the Hokage's office first thing?" She said, then stopped as he pinned her with a harsh look. "I'll take that as a no." TenTen said quickly.

o.o.o.o.o

"Find a date for the party yet?" Hanabi asked as she continued writing something down in her tablet, not even bothering to look up.

Sasuke frowned. "How do you even know it's me? I have my chakra completely repressed this time."

Hanabi looked up, the veins around her eyes bulging a moment before she released the Byakugan. "I sensed someone nearing and activated my clan ability."

He nodded in approval.

"I take it since you did not answer my question, you are still dateless?" Hanabi asked plainly with only the ghost of amusement in her pearlescent eyes.

Sasuke frowned sharply at her.

"I found someone who will go with you." The genin continued.

"You?" He scoffed, though he hoped she would ask him. It would save him from having to actually ask her.

Hanabi smiled brightly. "You wish, I'm too young for a date. You can go with my cousin though. She's branch family, but she's really sweet. Otsune."

"Otsune?" Sasuke racked his brain, but wasn't putting a name with a face. "I don't remember her, but if you're trying to set us up, then I'm automatically suspicious."

The genin kunoichi shook her head. "You met her, remember? After that mission to the swamp area? She helped clean your coat."

"No!" Sasuke looked appalled. "She's old enough to be my mother!"

Hanabi frowned. "Beggers can't be choosers, and she's willing to go out with you. Besides, you're better off than I am." She looked back down at what she was writing.

"How am I better off with this Otsune girl ..er, woman than you are?" Sasuke grumbled, but determined he'd show up alone or not at all if this was his only choice.

Hanabi sighed and put down her pencil. "Like I said, I'm too young to date. I'm five years younger than you."

"So?" He shrugged. "When I'm 25 you'll be all of twenty. No one would thing a thing about an age difference like that."

She smiled ruefully. "Not then they won't, but now? So I don't get a date. I get an 'escort'."

"Doesn't sound too bad." Sasuke commented dryly, though he wasn't sure he liked the idea of the girl he was thinking of courting being seen by someone else. No matter how innocently or well chaperoned.

"You haven't met him. Minor nobility coming into town. His father already put in an offer for my hand in marriage." Hanabi pointedly left out the detail where her father had already denied that offer.

Sasuke stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Marriage?"

"Oh, I have no interest in him. And I think I can convince my father not to accept the offer, not yet anyway. The guy is a fool and dull to boot."

"So, turn down his escort and take someone else." Sasuke said, anger churning in his stomach. Who was this dobe and how could he take him apart without getting kicked out of Konoha?

Hanabi snorted lightly. "Yeah sure. Who am I going to find that is high enough socially to appease my father, safe enough that I know he won't try and take advantage, and currently willing to escort me?"

Sasuke stopped breathing a moment. "I could escort you."

"Oh please!" Hanabi giggled. "I tortured you in the hospital. Do you think I'll let you be my escort? You're just looking for a way to humiliate me."

"No, seriously. It's perfect for both of us." Sasuke leaned forward, making her catch her breath. "You get a safe escort who isn't a fool and isn't dull. And I get to go and let everyone see me intermingling and being a good guy. No down side."

"Well, I don't know." Hanabi pretended to think it over.

"Seriously, I want to escort you. Like you said, it's not a date. And I can maybe find someone at the party that I could ask out on a date at a later time. Once they see me being harmless and all."

Hanabi's temper flared and she struggled not to let it show. He was going to take her out, and then look for other women at the party? Oh, she so didn't think so!

Sasuke kept his impatience severely in check. Like he was going to let his future wife be escorted by someone else? Oh, he so didn't think so!

o.o.o.o.o

TenTen dragged an irritated Kankuro toward the Hokage tower. He mumbled and complained the whole way.

"Will you please stop whining?!" TenTen scowled at him. "Or I'll nail you with a few weapons in the other leg so you'll be limping in both!"

"I need to be with Gaara right now." The puppeteer complained.

"Baki is handling him, and he'll be fine." TenTen bit her lip, or at least she hoped so. If things didn't work out though, she wanted Baki in the line of fire, not Kankuro. "And someone has to report in to the Hokage's office! Since Gaara flatly refused, that leaves you."

o.o.o.o.o

"I like the purple ones." Hinata said, tracing the outline of the flowers in the catalogue.

"Then that's what we'll have." Chouji said, trying not to sound bored. All he had to do every now and again was agree with her.

"But I like the red too." The long-haired kunoichi sighed and looked at her betrothed. "What do you think?"

Chouji blinked, he'd honestly been spacing out and had no idea what she was asking him. "I think …that you should have what you want."

Chiyo smiled to herself. Bridegrooms rarely changed. They didn't give a flip about the flower, or the colors, or anything else. The wedding was a means to an end to them. For the bride however, the wedding was an _event_. Though Hinata was less demanding a bride than usual and seemed to want to keep everything on a smaller scale. "I think we have some more choices in this book."

Yoshino and Asami sipped their tea and smiled indulgently at the young couple. They were in no hurry to gossip. Besides, Asami was having so much fun watching her son and future daughter-by-marriage. Yoshino sighed, more than a little jealous, though happy for her friend.

"It'll be your turn soon." Akimichi Asami reached out and patted Yoshino's shoulder. "Shikamaru will wake up one day and decide he needs to get married."

Yoshino wasn't so sure, but she smiled her thanks anyway.

"Mother? Did you order a lot of flowers to be delivered today?" Ino came up the stairs. "There's a wagon outside and they are unloading a ton of flowers."

"Today isn't our usual delivery day." Chiyo said, puzzled. "Well, go let them in to the shop and see what this is all about."

Ino shook her head and instead headed for the main door to the house, not the one leading to the shop. "But they were carrying them up here."

"Up here? Up the stairs?" Asami put down her tea cup as she watched Ino open the door. "Why make a delivery to the residence and not the shop?"

A stunned Ino stepped aside as men moved past her, bringing in armfuls of flowers in every type of vase and container.

"Anemones?" Chiyo looked stunned as she watched every available space to put something fill up with flowers. "Red carnations, and are those calendula? We didn't order any of these."

Yoshino and Asami looked stunned as Hinata activated her Byakugan and looked outside. Suddenly, the shy Hyuuga girl began smiling widely. "Oh Ino!"

"What does all this mean?" Yoshino asked absently, though Chiyo took her seriously.

"The anemones mean unfading love while the red carnations mean admiration …"

"My heart aches for you." Corrected Ino, still looking stunned as the men left only to return with more flowers. "Red carnations also mean my heart aches for you."

But Chiyo wasn't listening. "The calendula means joy while the lavender means devotion."

"What are these?" Hinata asked, her eyes wide and her smile undimmed as she pointed to a bunch of particular flowers. "There are more of these than any other."

Chiyo shook her head and tried to focus, finally she recognized the flower and caught her breath. She fell slightly against an amused and puzzled Asami. "What are they?"

Chiyo screamed and reached for the flowers. "Spiderflowers! Oh my goodness gracious, these are spiderflowers!"

"What do they mean?" Yoshino asked, still looking around stunned. All the men had left and they were alone with an abundance of blooms.

Ino smiled and touched an arrangement of red carnations and baby's breath. "Everlasting love." She said absently to herself, seeing only what was in front of her and paying no attention to the others.

Asami grinned. "So where is this wonderful young man?"

Hinata pointed through the floor. "Downstairs. I think he's waiting for you Ino."

Ino nodded, but seemed frozen in place.

"Go! Go! A man who brings spiderflowers that mean everlasting love deserves a warmer welcome than this!" Asami laughed, pushing Ino towards the door.

"No, no, no!" Chiyo laughed. "The baby's breath means everlasting love! Not the spiderflowers!"

Ino turned, her attention finally snagged. "Spiderflowers?" Her mouth dropped open in shock as she saw that these flowers outnumbered all the others. "Oh …oh …oh!" She turned to race down the stairs.

"So if those don't mean everlasting love, what do they mean?" Yoshino asked as she watched her long-time friend's eyes well up with tears of joy.

"Spiderflowers have only one meaning." Chiyo laughed. "My baby is getting married!"

Chouji rolled his eyes as the other women all cooed.

Asami laughed and grinned as she wrapped her arm around Ino's mother. "So they're a proposal? How marvelous! We can plan our children's weddings together!"

"Damn that Shikamaru." Yoshino huffed, then grabbed Chiyo for a hug of her own. "Congratulations!"

"Wedding?" Chiyo shook them off. "Oh, there's no time, no time. I have to get moving!"

Hinata smiled gently. "There's plenty of time. I know it seems that these things go fast …."

Chiyo laughed and grabbed her friend's hands, one in each of hers. "I need your help, there's so much to do today! Especially before Inoichi returns."

"Today?" Chouji asked, suddenly alert. "Exactly what do spiderflowers mean?"

Ino's mother grinned widely. "Elope with me."

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade grimaced and shook her head. "So Gaara sent you all over so he could head straight to Yamanaka's? I wouldn't have thought if of him."

Kankuro shrugged. "He's not one to wait for what he wants. I have to say, he was very angry that you wouldn't let Ino go back to Suna with him."

The Hokage shrugged. "I did what I thought was best. And he didn't act angry."

The puppeteer shook his head. "He's getting better at politics, he's had too. But trust me, Gaara wasn't a happy man. You should have seen what he put some of his people through, especially those at the greenhouse."

"Greenhouse?" Tsunade looked puzzled. "Oh never mind, there are _more important_ things to talk about. You. Go get your brother, I need to see him."

Kankuro nodded at her. She snapped her eyebrows together and glared at him. "Now please!" The puppeteer gave TenTen an apologetic look then headed out of the office.

"While we WAIT for the Kazekage, who SHOULD have reported to me first, let's go over some things." The Hokage eyed TenTen and proceeded to explain about the attempt at biological warfare against the Leaf village. "So you see, I need to inoculate you before you head back. I want all of our ninja protected and I'm even having doses drawn up for Suna since they are our allies."

"Right." TenTen nodded, now understanding why Tsunade wanted to see Gaara so badly. She couldn't inoculate his ninja without the Kazekage's approval and consent.

"So." Tsunade opened a box on her desk, pulling out a syringe already pre-filled. "Let's get you taken care of before we have the Sand brothers back in here. Now, any breathing difficulties? Allergies to eggs?"

"No and no." TenTen said, loosening her top until the Hokage pointed at her rear-end. Grimacing, the kunoichi started to push down her pants.

"Chest pain, unexplained wheezing, night sweats …"

"No, no, and no." TenTen said bending over.

"Pregnacy?" Tsunade pulled the cap off the needle.

TenTen laughed. "Only if you ask anyone from Suna."

The needle stopped abruptly. "What?" Tsunade asked, straightening up. "You're pregnant?"

"No!" TenTen exclaimed with a small grimace. "Kankuro only told Gaara that so he wouldn't insist we have a huge wedding."

"Wedding?" The Hokage's eyes widened. "This is the first I've heard about this." She said it almost accusingly.

"He asked, I answered. Now we have to face my family, you, and everything that goes with it. Kankuro just wanted to avoid the whole thing and just get married." TenTen said quickly, hoping the Hokage wasn't angry she'd been left out of the loop.

"Tsk. Fine. We'll talk about contracts and stuff later." Then the blonde shook her head. "But are you pregnant or not?"

"Gaara and Baki think so." TenTen grinned. "But no."

Tsunade studied her ninja carefully from head to toe. "So, they believed Kankuro's lie?"

"I tried to tell them that it was a false alarm. But they said my moods have been irritable and that I looked puffy. Puffy! Can you believe that?" TenTen's expression showed her hurt.

Tsunade clicked her teeth together a moment then nodded. "We need to have you take a test."

The leggy brunette looked stunned. "But I'm not pregnant!"

"But if you are, then you can't have this shot." Tsunade snapped at her. "And if there's a chance you are, then we need to find out. Or are you saying there's no chance at all."

"Well, there's always a chance." TenTen sputtered. "But I'm fine!"

"No sickness?" Tsunade asked, unsure. "Anything at all?"

"Bad fish." Avowed the younger kunoichi. "It was some bad fish!"

Tsunade shook her head, sighing. "What about weight gain?" She asked pointedly.

TenTen shook her head. "Only two pounds, and that's only because I don't have Gai and Lee to push me."

The Hokage sighed. "Can't take that chance. Let's go get you a cup to pee into."

o.o.o.o.o

Ino ran all the way down the stairs until she saw him. Staring at her. Unmoving, unblinking, and staring solely at her. She blushed and brushed back her hair. "You're early." She said breathlessly. "I didn't have time to change."

"I haven't slept since we left Suna." He said coarsely. "I did take a shower though." Then nearly bit his tongue, how stupid! He sounded like an idiot.

Ino didn't seem to mind though, her jewel-like eyes were shining overbrightly. "I missed you."

"Did you get my flowers?" Gaara asked, wanting to know her answer.

Ino giggled. "How could I miss them?"

"So?" The red-head growled at her.

The blonde looked puzzled a moment, then grinned. "You took me by surprise."

"That's not an answer!" The voice yelled down from the open window upstairs. Both of them turned to look as everyone grinned down at them. "Answer the boy, Ino!"

The blonde fidgeted and looked at Gaara. "Let's go somewhere else."

He just stared at her. Finally he sighed. "I want an answer." He paused, holding his breath.

"But …but …does it have to be right now?!" Ino sputtered. "I mean yes, I …"

"SHE SAID YES!" Chiyo's voice came floating out of the open window upstairs, followed by pounding feet across the floor.

"But I don't …I don't have a dress!" Ino wailed.

Hinata leaned out over the windowsill. "Yes you do! The blue one is gorgeous and brand new!"

Chouji leaned out next. "Hurry up and answer, my mom and Shikamaru's mom are having a hard time keeping your mother from getting out the door." A large crash sounded behind him and he winced. "I hope your dad doesn't mind that his t.v. tray just crashed under the weight of flowers."

"But …but what about the contracts? The Hokage?" Ino asked, her breathing growing tighter and tighter.

"Let me worry about the Hokage." Gaara sneered. "She owes me. And the contracts? Not a problem. I won't push for anything outrageous."

Ino looked shocked as she found herself nodding. "Yes."

Gaara's tension suddenly eased away as the door upstairs was fairly wrenched off its hinges. His smile faded as Yamanaka Chiyo came barreling down the stairs at him. He called in his sand armor as she wrapped him suddenly up in her arms. "Spiderflowers!"

o.o.o.o.o

Neji and Hana were heading back to the Inuzuka residence with a pot full of soup they'd bought in town. Kiba was home and Sakura was on the couch sneezing her head off. They'd vamoosed but Hana at least had started feeling guilty.

"So, we're just leaving it for them by the door and not getting any closer to the flu bugs?" Neji wanted this all spelled out. He _detested_ being sick and had no intention of getting around anyone who was currently infected.

The three Haimaru nin-dogs 'woofed' their agreement. Neji reached down absently to pet one of them. They were growing on him, though they still liked to tease him mercilessly.

"Big baby." Hana laughed as she suddenly stopped. Chouji dropped down from the rooftops in front of them. "What's wrong? Akimichi?"

"Neji. Hinata sent me to find you. Go to my house and bring all the sample cakes the bakers sent over for us to taste. We need them!" Chouji rushed the words out. "Bring them to the main temple courtyard."

"Whoa, hold on! What?" Neji sputtered, his pride ticked at being ordered around.

"They're eloping!"

"Hinata's eloping?" Hana's eyes went wide.

"No! Ino and Gaara. We're heading toward the temple now. I'm trying to round up everyone I can find. Have you seen Sakura?" Chouji asked abruptly, grinning from ear to ear.

Hana grinned. "She's sick, but she's at my house with Kiba. Flu. But damn, she's going to be mad she missed this!"

"She can watch from a distance!" Chouji laughed. "I'll go get her. Tell anyone you come across!" He paused, stopped and looked at them. "Well, anyone we like anyway!"

Hana laughed as Neji continued to look stunned. "Elope? Kazekage? Are they crazy?"

"Sounds fun!" Hana smiled and kissed Neji. Then she turned to her nin-dogs. "Go home and wait for mother, tell her where we've gone!"

o.o.o.o.o

Inoichi was heading back from the marketplace when he ran into Nara Shikaku. The two men fell to talking. Talking turned to a cup of sake. One cup turned to two and the talking continued, the groceries sat at the blond man's feet, forgotten for the moment.

Lazily, Shikaku looked out over to the other side of the street. "Where is Choza's boy heading to in such an all-fire hurry?"

Inoichi smiled and shook his head. "Probably trying to keep his manhood intact. His betrothed and my wife were supposed to keep him looking at flower catalogues all morning. Maybe he just escaped!"

"Here's to the poor lad!" Shikaku held up his sake cup in a toast which Inoichi answered with a cup of his own.

o.o.o.o.o

"Hanabi!"

Startled, both Sasuke and the young Hyuuga looked up at Hinata as she ran up to their table.

"I need a huge favor. Go find the Hokage and tell her to get to the temple. Right away." Hianta said, then saw Sasuke and flushed as she realized she'd interrupted her sister during something 'important'.

"Why?" Hanabi asked, curious as all get out.

"If you don't know, then you can't spill the secret." Hinata whispered. "Get her to the temple as fast as possible. But tell her it's something really wonderful, not something bad."

"Are you and Akimichi eloping?" Sasuke guessed.

Hinata blushed hard and shook her head.

o.o.o.o.o

Shikaku put down his cup, puzzled. "Now why is Chouji running back with other way with Lee and Naruto behind him running just as fast?"

Inoichi shrugged. "Maybe we should look into it."

Just then the server arrived with some snacks and another bottle of sake. Both men shrugged off the moment as youthful insanity. "Probably nothing, there's no alarms being sounded." Inoichi stated.

Shikaku agreed as he unstoppered the new bottle.

o.o.o.o.o

"You don't have to do this." Gaara said as he sat in the temple with Ino, watching while everyone around them bustled and called to each other.

Ino smiled and squeezed his hand. "You want to though."

He stared at her, bemused by how beautiful she looked. Reading his gaze, Ino blushed prettily. "I don't want you to feel pushed." He said faintly, gruffly. Though part of him knew that if she really did change her mind, he'd try and change it back.

The blonde kunoichi leaned forward and whispered in his ear. "It's a good thing I've already packed for the trip to Suna now, isn't it?"

Gaara reared back, his eyes huge with surprise. "Did you …how did you …know?"

Ino shook her head and nibbled on her bottom lip. "I knew I wanted to be with you. And I knew you'd find a way to get them to let me go to Suna. I just …I just never expected all this." She waved her hand at all the people running around behind them.

"Red roses." He said, feeling his stomach drop down within him. Suddenly he felt a bit ill. But that ceased as she smiled brightly at him.

"I love you too, Gaara." She whispered.

o.o.o.o.o

Inuzuka Tsume was confused. She'd left the house with Kiba safely ensconced in his room with that Haruno girl curled up on her couch looking green around the gills.

Now as she looked around, and sniffed around, she couldn't find a soul. "Where is everyone?" She asked.

The Haimaru triplets looked up at her, pawing the air. "Yes, you three have something to tell me?"

A series of 'woofs' had her fangs showing in no time. "Eloping? Hana said they were having fun and going to elope?" Tsume growled low and deep, and the dogs cowered, forgetting that there was more to the message.

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro was confused. There was no one at the Yamanaka house. The refrigerated wagon was sitting out front, and the door to the house was hanging off kilter a bit, but other than that …nothing. "Where is everyone?"

o.o.o.o.o

Temari was heading out to the training fields with Shino. She was slightly irritated at the moment. "No. I told you, those don't count."

"I'm not wearing your underpants anymore. It was bad enough that my father found out. I'm not taking the chance of anyone else." He nudged her with his hip. "And admit it, you liked the froggy boxers I was wearing."

Temari opened her mouth to give a smart aleck response when suddenly they both felt someone racing up behind them. Spinning, they relaxed in tandem as they recognized Hinata.

The long-haired girl grinned at them, not a hint of shyness about her.

Startled, Shino and Temari shared a look that faded into utter shock as they heard her hurried message.

All three took off for the Leaf Village temple immediately.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsume followed Hana's trail to the Akimichi residence, but found no one home. Then the trail headed off …toward the temple. She growled low and menacingly.

Suddenly she spotted someone, and her smile grew lethal.

Hiashi looked startled as Tsume just appeared in his path, flash-stepping in front of him. His brows snapped together, his pale eyes narrowing. "Inuzuka-sama."

"Hyuuga dung."

Slowly Hiashi's spine stiffened and he stared down his nose at the clan leader for the dog ninja. "Excuse me?"

"Did you approve this move?" She snarled, her temper flaring.

The Hyuuga tightened his lips and returned her stare with one of his own. "I have no idea what you are prattling about."

"So." She grimaced. "You didn't give Neji and Hana permission to elope?"

Over on the next street Shikaku's cup actually wavered as he heard a shout of fury.

Inoichi looked at his friend. "Maybe there really is something going on?"

Then they watched in amazement as Tsunade raced down the street with TenTen, Hanabi, and Sasuke trailing behind her.

Speechless, they just watched the group disappear. Then they turned as they heard two angry voices approaching. In silence they watched as Tsume and Hiashi too hurried after the other group.

"Did you catch any of that?" Shikaku asked.

"I heard temple." Inoichi replied.

The shadow-nin relaxed. "I heard the word 'elope'."

"Inuzuka and Hyuuga?" The blonde queried.

Shikaku shrugged. "I heard that the Inuzuka heir was seeing that Neji fellow. The one in the 'undateable' book with my son."

Inoichi winced. "Look, she hasn't said anything but I know that Ino probably had something to do with that picture of Shikamaru."

"And he deserved it. I had that directly from him, so I should apologize to you." Shikaku sighed. "Darned boy."

Inoichi suddenly smiled. "You know, this could prove entertaining. We should head out there."

Shikaku nodded. "I'm game."

o.o.o.o.o

Hiashi and Tsume both saw the crowd up ahead and both turned bright red with anger. They slowed down and tried to approach the crowd.

"Whoa mom, what's the hurry? The reception hasn't started yet."

Tsume whipped around and spied Kiba sitting with Sakura away from the group. He smiled wanly at her. "Some party, huh?"

Hiashi glowered at the two and Kiba looked puzzled. "Hey! What did I do?"

"You should be at home!" Tsume pointed at him with a long finger tipped with a sharp nail. "So should you, Haruno!"

"And miss the Kazekage's wedding? Are you nuts?"

"And how DARE you keep this wedding a secret from …." Tsume suddenly snapped her teeth at Hiashi who had put a restraining hand on her arm.

"The …Kazekage's wedding?"

Suddenly Tsume's temper fell like a cold lump of wet clay. "Gaara is eloping?" Gaara, not Hana. She reined herself in, but only barely.

Sakura grinned. "We're here though we're keeping to the outskirts, and I'll make sure Kiba and I go home soon. But we want to see them walk out married."

"Mom?"

"Uncle Hiashi?"

The two whipped around to see Hana smiling at them as they both held multiple bakery boxes. Behind them were Lee, Matsuri and Naruto, also carrying boxes.

"What …" Tsume cleared her throat, her temper cooled but still volatile. "What are you all up to now?"

"Didn't the Haimaru triplets tell you?" Hana asked as she walked away with the boxes, the leaders of the Hyuuga and Inuzuka clan following along behind her.

"You don't want to know what they told me." Tsume grumbled as she watched Hana take the boxes from each of the boys and started unpacking small cakes.

Hiashi sighed, relieved that Neji had NOT run off and eloped. That would have killed the wedding contracts he wanted to win from the Inuzuka. Feeling relieved, he started to turn away. Then he stopped and stared. "Aren't those Hinata's cakes?"

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade pushed through the crowd, having no difficulties whatsoever trouncing on people's feet or shoving them in the kidneys. She figured she could heal them all later, so why not?

She got to the front of the temple and grinned as she saw Hinata and Chouji directing things. "Oh you two sly little ninja. Something 'wonderful' huh? I can't believe you two are doing this. Normally I should be the voice of reason and ask you to wait and not elope." She leaned in. "But I want to see the look on your father's face, so go right ahead!"

Hinata blushed furiously as Chouji waved his hands.

"You're at the temple, no need to whisper now kids! Let's go inside and get this done." Tsunade swept into the temple with a distraught Hinata following behind.

"B…buu….but …Hokage-domo!" Hinata tried and tried, but couldn't seem to get the words out. She was trying so hard she bumped into Tsunade when the blonde stopped suddenly.

Tsunade's mouth dropped open and she reached behind her, dragging a red-faced Hinata to her side. "You're not the one getting married today, are you?"

Still unable to answer, Hinata quickly shook her head.

Gaara turned away from the officiating priest to stare coldly at Tsunade, almost daring her to stop them.

The Hokage took a breath but then stopped. She had no clue what to do or say. None. She eyed Ino who was blushing prettily in her blue gown, looking as good as any bride could ever dream of looking.

Then she turned her gaze onto the groom. Their gazes locked and she realized that she'd have to fight to the death to pry Ino away from the short and spooky little red-headed Kazekage.

Looking back at Ino, Tsunade caught her eye as well. She smiled. The expression on Ino's face too promised a fight if anyone attempted to stop this ceremony.

A small commotion behind her had the Hokage turning. She grimaced as she caught the dumbfounded look on poor Inoichi's face. She watched as the man's wife hurried over to him, whispering fiercely in his ear.

Tsunade walked over to join them as the ceremony continued. It was private. Family only. Ino had her brothers beside her and Temari and Kankuro flanked Gaara. No parents for him. And as for hers?

"No." Inoichi was gesturing wildly.

"Yamanaka."

The man settled down and nodded to the Hokage. "Are you going to stop this … this …nonsense?"

Tsunade finally realized she did have the right words after all. "No. They have my complete blessing."

o.o.o.o.o

**Yes. It's done. Now before anyone reviews me about it, there are some things still left to address. These WILL be done in the epilogue. The wrapping up, so to speak.**

**Next: One year later**


	47. In the Dog House

**One Year Later:**

"Do they have to stay _here_ though?" The blond man asked plaintively, his eyes pleading for understanding.

The fresh sheet snapped with precision in the air before settling over the mattress. Yamanaka Chiyo automatically smoothed out all the wrinkles as she made the bed. "We need flowers in here." She commented absently, ignoring her husband's whining.

"We have enough flowers!" Inoichi snapped. "We have a whole store full of flowers downstairs. And there are always fresh arrangements everywhere in this house!"

"Not those, those are for every day." Chiyo wrinkled her nose at the pretty arrangement she herself had put together. "Something different. Perhaps some peonies?"

"Sure, fine, whatever." Inoichi almost looked like one of his sons sulking when not getting his way.

Chiyo walked up to him and gave him a swift hug and kiss. "It's been a whole year. She's not begged to come home, left in a huff, nor has she had her own heart trampled on. Do you think maybe now you might admit that she is happy?"

Inoichi grumbled and growled, then sighed petulantly. "They weren't dating long enough, they barely knew each other! She moved a whole country away! And now they're coming for a visit and you're putting them in the room next door to us? Why can't she stay here and he take the apartments that foreigners use?"

Chiyo slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Grow up! They're married, the same as we are. They have been for a year now."

"At least give them Ino's old room then." Inoichi begged. "That's all the way down the hall from our bedroom."

But his wife only shook her head, pursing her lips. "We gave each of the boys their own room when Ino moved out. I'm not asking them to bunk up together now, especially when we have a perfectly nice guest room right here."

"But you know what they'll be doing in here!" Inoichi looked around desperately. "He'll have his hands all over her! IN MY HOUSE!"

"Our house." Chiyo smiled sweetly at her husband. "And I hope so. I want grandchildren. Oh! I know! Peonies over here on the dresser and an orchid over here by the window! Perfect!"

Inoichi knew when a battle was lost. He sighed deeply and watched as his wife began to whistle as she made ready for their coming visitors. "I'm going out."

"No you're not." Chiyo's eyes narrowed on him. "I want you here and sober when they arrive. You _wil_l smile and be polite. You _will_ let your daughter know that not only have you forgiven her, but that you now approve. You _will_ be on your best behavior."

Inoichi's hard gaze met that of his wife. She stared and he stared. Long moments later he looked away first. "You would have made a great kunoichi." He muttered.

"I make a better mother." Chiyo responded smugly.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata woke instantly when the window slid open noiselessly, though she was still bone tired. Frowning she buried her head in the pillow. "Go away." She mumbled, recognizing their intruder almost immediately.

Chouji groaned and wrapped his arm around his wife and pulled her in tightly against his body.

"Ew! Stop that!" The voice sounded faintly appalled. "And you heard her, go away!"

Yawning hugely, Chouji didn't even bother to look at their usual intruder as he spoke. "We just got back less than three hours ago. She meant for YOU to go away. Besides, I thought you were going to try and curb this habit."

"But you were visiting family, not on a mission! How tired can you be?" Hanabi huffed and pushed her long hair behind her. "Besides, I need to speak with my sister." She mumbled. "It's important!"

"He was visiting the family lands on business with his father. And I _was_ on a mission, a long one too!" Hinata groaned and snuggled closer to Chouji. Her husband grinned and held her tighter as he yawned again, appreciatively drawing in the scent that was uniquely Hinata's. "What's important this time? Did Sasuke frown at you? What did he do this time?" He asked gruffly.

"Did he forget to congratulate you on making chuunin?" Hinata mumbled, then raised her head to blink wearily at her younger sister. "Congratulations by the way."

"Yes, congratulations little bit." Chouji grinned at her as he used his pet name for his little sister-by-marriage. "Shikamaru's father was impressed. He told us all about it. Sorry we weren't here to see the fight though, heard it was some bout. Did they heal your shoulder already?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Hanabi frowned as she gingerly rotated her left arm with only a tinge to remind her of the wrenching pain of yesterday. "I was hoping you'd be back in time to watch, but they moved my fight up when two genin dropped out at the last moment and one was deemed too injured to continue." All of a sudden she shook her head. "No! That's not what I wanted to talk to you about, it's …"

"Important, we heard. Did Sasuke bring a date to the chuunin finals?" Chouji asked. "Or did he pick up new fangirls? I thought you scared off the last group of new grads from the Academy."

"She did. Got a verbal warning and a docked paycheck for that too. Seems the Hokage didn't take kindly to their injuries. Sasuke was amused though." Hinata yawned and sat up, pushing her long hair behind her.

"He was grateful too." Hanabi said smugly. "But this … this is WORSE!"

Hinata sighed, she knew that she'd never get rid of her sister, and get some much needed sleep, unless she found out what was bothering her. She shoved Chouji's shoulder and her husband groaned, "Okay little bit, what IS the matter? Last month it was because Sasuke was flirting with that pub owner's daughter."

"That was just to twist my tail since I'd been flirting with the council elder's son." Hanabi sighed. "No, this is worse …much worse!"

Now even Chouji was caught as he opened his eyes to stare at the younger kunoichi. Her voice sounded strange. Hinata caught her breath. "What is it?"

Hanabi started pacing up and down her sister and brother-by-marriage's bedroom. She was no stranger here. At first she'd tried to limit these early morning 'chats' to when Chouji was gone, but eventually it had just been easier to include him. Though she knew he might view it a bit differently than she did.

"Well?" Chouji asked impatiently and ran one hand up his wife's spine, making her skin tingle. She shivered and gave him a lingering look that promised something more than sleep once they were alone again.

"Sasuke is going to try and get Sakura back!" Wailed Hanabi, throwing herself into a nearby chair and looking pitiful.

Chouji bit back a snort and looked away lest he start laughing. Sixteen year olds took everything so damned seriously. "Sakura is getting married." He reminded the Hyuuga heiress. "Tomorrow."

"Hanabi?" Her older sister frowned with worry.

"In the last couple of months Sasuke and Sakura have been talking again." The new chuunin sighed morosely.

Hinata nodded, she was well aware of this. "And Naruto is usually with them, sometimes Kakashi too. Sasuke has really been trying hard this last year to repair his relationships. I thought you were happy about this?"

"I was, until I found out Sakura was free." Hanabi leaned her head back in the chair. "Now I need you to fix it for me. You're friends with her, talk to her!"

Chouji shook his head, sure that he'd heard wrong. "But she's marrying Kiba. Tomorrow. Remember? You two even have new dresses."

"Oh yeah? Well she broke up with dog-boy _**last night**_." Hanabi sneered. "So now she's free AND on good terms with Sasuke. MY Sasuke!"

Hinata stiffened, horrified. "What?"

Chouji groaned, knowing he'd get no more sleep this morning. He looked balefully at his wife who'd rushed over to consult with Hanabi. Looked like he wasn't getting _anything_ this morning as a matter of fact.

o.o.o.o.o

"He's so adorable!" Cooed Matsuri as she held the baby close to her and kissed the top of his head. "His hair looks just like yours." She grinned as she looked up at a distinctly uncomfortable Aburame. Vainly she tried to smooth down the brown tufts sticking out in every direction.

Shino shook his head as Temari laughed and reached out for the baby. "Come to mama Kentaro." She grinned as the three-month old little bundle of joy blinked open dark eyes and yawned, waving his tiny little fists.

"Technically, that's me …not you." TenTen laughed as she returned from the bathroom.

"Not if I keep him." Temari beamed down at her nephew, making kissy faces at him.

Shino stared at her in awe. "It's like you've henged into someone else." He shook his head in wonder.

Temari stuck her tongue out at her boyfriend then frowned down at the baby. "I think he's going back to sleep." She startled to jostle him slightly

"That's a good thing, not a bad one!" TenTen rushed over to relieve her sister-by-marriage and take back her child. "The more he sleeps, the more I get done." But Temari turned away, keeping the baby as he slipped into slumber.

"You're not finished packing yet?" Lee asked his former teammate. "I would be honored if you would allow me the task of …"

"No, no!" TenTen laughed and ruffled Lee's black hair lovingly. "I'm fine and yes, I'm all packed for Suna. Now Temari, I can't let you keep him. He's going to get hungry sooner or later."

Matsuri sighed as she leaned back against her boyfriend, and let Lee's arms wrap around her. "I'm going to be sorry to see you all head back. Have you forgiven the guys yet?"

TenTen's face fell into a mulish expression as her eyes hardened.

Temari winced. "I'll take that as a 'no'." She leaned in to whisper to the baby. "If mommy kills daddy, don't worry you can come live with me."

Shino just sat back and watched her in amazement. Temari would have been the last person he would have suspected to have such strong maternal feelings. It gave him hope for the future.

o.o.o.o.o

"C'mon Sakura!" The voice pleaded as he pounded on her bathroom door. "At least come out so we can talk!"

"Go away, Naruto!" Sakura yelled out through the locked door. "I have nothing to say to you OR Kiba right now!"

Sasuke shook his head in disgust. "You're acting like an idiot." He muttered.

Naruto drew up sharply, "I am not!" He glared at his friend.

Kakashi sighed from his perch across the room and put down his book. "I think he meant Sakura, not you Naruto."

The Uchiha shook his head and walked over to the door. "It works equally well for both of them."

"Sakura?" Ayame called out gently, her concern showing on her face. "Can I come in?"

"I don't want to speak with anyone!" Sakura yelled out, madder than a wet hen. "You got that Kiba?"

Kakashi made a cutting signal across his throat quickly. Both Naruto and Sasuke nodded, falling into compliance. But Ayame was no kunoichi and didn't catch on quite as quickly.

Ayame shook her head. "Kiba's not here."

Kakashi's head dropped in defeat as silence descended upon them all. Naruto and Sasuke held their breaths. The bathroom door opened and a furious, red-faced, vein bulging Sakura stared out at them.

"What the _FUCK_ do you mean he isn't here?!" She screeched loudly enough to rattle the glass knick-knacks on the shelf by the door. "Where is he!!"

Ayame's eyes widened in alarm as Sakura cracked her knuckles and pulled on her fighting glove. "Oh dear…."

Suddenly the room emptied as Kakashi flash-stepped away, Sasuke slipped out through the door and Naruto was gone in an instant.

Sakura opened her mouth again and then all of a sudden Naruto was back. He grinned apologetically at Sakura and threw Ayame over his shoulder and then vanished, taking his girlfriend out of immediate danger.

o.o.o.o.o

"I don't know, that's a big step to take." Kurenai whistled and tried hard not to smile.

Anko nodded. "I know, I know. But, it's been a year and …well …" She rolled her shoulders and took a deep breath. "I think we may be ready."

"Mitarashi." Ibiki greeted the spiky-haired kunoichi as he approached.

Anko nodded at him, squinting up as he stood over her with the sun at his back. "You seem to have an odd tumor growing out of the back of your neck. You might want to have that looked at, Ibiki."

"Very funny." The ANBU torture division leader said as Shunin kicked his heels and bounced up and down on his perch sitting atop Ibiki's shoulders.

The boy held a new toy ship in his hands as he grinned from ear to ear. "Sailing! We go sailing, mama!"

"You spoil him." Kurenai said with a softness in her tone not lost on Anko.

Ibiki pulled out a chair and detached a squirming Shunin from his shoulders to deposit the boy next to his mother. "Have you ordered for us yet?" He asked casually.

Kurenai laughed and nodded, then smiled at Anko as the other woman stood. "You don't have to rush off."

"Things to plan, people to see. Sai to do." Anko winked lasciviously as she cackled and sauntered away.

"She never changes." Ibiki said as he settled himself down at the table.

"Oh, there's a BIG change coming up for our dear friend." Kurenai smiled at her two guys. She'd never thought she'd be this happy again, not since she'd heard the terrible news of Asuma's death. If he was looking down from heaven, she knew he wouldn't be jealous. No, her love probably had set this whole thing up just to make her happy once more.

"See what daddy got me?" Shunin held up the sailboat for his mother's inspection.

Ibiki watched in wonder as the two chatted about the boat. The first time that Shunin had called him daddy, the big bad ANBU shinobi had nearly tripped over his own feet. He'd been horrified and had hoped that Kurenai wouldn't get upset and think he was trying to take Asuma's place.

She hadn't. Instead she'd grinned at him and pointed to a picture of Sarutobi on the mantel. Kurenai had asked Shunin who was in the picture.

"_Papa!" The boy had shouted._

"_Life moves on." She'd told him. "Hard as that may be, Shunin has his whole life ahead of him and we can't live in the past."_

"Hello? Ibiki?"

He startled and smiled ruefully as he realized that Kurenai had been calling his name. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Anko has decided to take a 'big step' in her relationship with Sai."

Ibiki drew in a sharp breath, his eyebrows winging up. "They're getting engaged?"

"No." Kurenai laughed. "But it's a big step forward toward commitment."

He shrugged, waiting for her to tell him.

The pretty brunette leaned across the table, her red eyes sparkling with mirth. "She's going to tell Sai tonight …"

Ibiki growled at her as she drew out her sentence, then stopped. "Spill woman."

"You old gossip you." Kurenai clucked her tongue chidingly.

"I'm a shinobi, I thrive on information." He mock scowled. "Don't make me torture it out of you."

Kurenai drew back, her hand over her heart. "Oh, I do like the sound of that!" She said, her blood heating up as she eyed him speculatively. "What would you do to me?"

Ibiki sighed and cut his eyes over to an oblivious Shunin. "Later. I'll torture you later if you tell me now."

"Deal." She grinned at him. "Well, it seems that Anko is going to let Sai know that he can keep a toothbrush at her place."

Scoffing, Ibiki leaned back. "So? She's probably just tired of his morning breath."

"After a full year?" Kurenai shook her head slowly as she made her point. "This is commitment-phobic Anko we're talking about. And if things go well, she might let him keep a change of clothing too."

"In a drawer?" Ibiki asked, his eyes widening.

Kurenai shook her head negatively. "No, he has to keep it in an overnight bag, but still … she's moving forward."

Ibiki nodded and grinned. "At this rate they'll end up married by the time they turn one hundred. Maybe the Hokage should open a betting pool on their wedding date."

Hooting with laugher, Kurenai looked away as she waved a hand in front of her face.

"What?" He asked her as Shunin cackled along with his mother at the top of his lungs. The kid didn't get the joke obviously, but he loved to laugh along with them whenever they did.

"No, it's just …you mentioned a betting pool." Kurenai settled down, though she was still trying to catch her breath. "Well, it seems the bear-masked ANBU guy won yet _another_ betting pool. Tsunade is madder than you can imagine. I've never seen her get so red in the face. I thought for sure she was going to explode."

Ibiki sighed and nodded, he knew that the man in question was the leader of ANBU. It surprised him not at all that the man was a very astute gambler. "So, he won the pool on the first to get married."

"Gaara and Ino eloping, who would have thought?!" Kurenai sighed at the romance of it all. "That was some reception afterwards too."

"Then he also won the bet on how soon Gai could get Shizune to the temple." Ibiki laughed. "I'm not sure if Tsunade was more upset having to pay out that bet or having to lose her assistant for a month."

"Kotetsu and Izumo lost more than just money on that one." Kurenai agreed with a snort of laughter. "They had to put up with the Hokage's bad temper the whole time Shizune was away on her honeymoon."

"Too true, too true." Ibiki said, then scrambled to get some napkins as Shunin made a grab for Ibiki's tea cup and ended up spilling it all over his lap.

Kurenai shook her finger at her unrepentant son. "That's Ibiki's drink, not Shunin's!"

"My drinky!" The boy shouted, sticking out his lip.

"Someone's getting tired." Kurenai sighed. "Maybe we should just take him home."

"Shunin will behave or he will not go sailing today." Ibiki said quietly.

The boy, hearing that, grabbed his toy sailboat. "I be good!" He promised heartily.

Impressed, Kurenai nodded her head. "You're getting good at this." She praised him.

"So, first went Ino to the altar. Then TenTen about two weeks later. These Suna boys move fast." Ibiki commented. "Their sister is still hanging around town though, and no engagement in sight."

"There's a betting pool on that too." Kurenai laughed. "I've already lost, I bet they'd be engaged by now."

"Me too." Ibiki frowned. "When did the ANBU guy pick?"

"This month." Kurenai grinned.

o.o.o.o.o

"Tell your brother that I'll be ready to leave whenever he is." Ino smiled sweetly at the one-eyed shinobi next to her.

Baki rolled his eye and leaned around her. "Gaara?"

"I heard her." The red-head mumbled from where he was sitting next to his beautiful blonde wife. "When are you going to get over this?"

Ino ignored them both and finished putting away the remains of their cold lunch in the travel packs. She signaled to the Suna guards that they were ready and took off at a fast clip.

The guards took off with her.

Gaara sighed. "When did I lose my authority?" He asked of no one in particular.

Baki shrugged and answered anyway. "Well, your guards and your household staff … oh hell, everyone in Suna adores her."

The red-head grunted as he hoisted his own travel pack.

"And when you went against her direct wishes and …"

"That was a rhetorical question." Gaara sneered, then took off to catch up with his fuming, if gorgeous, wife.

o.o.o.o.o

"I want one." Temari said as she and Shino walked back toward her apartment. As a teacher at the Academy she no longer used the guest quarters, but had taken a small place near the town center.

Shino looked over at the vendor they were passing. "But you hate leek and olive pie."

The blonde hit him without rancor and smiled. "No idiot. A baby."

The usually stoic Aburame heir stopped in the middle of the street, his mouth agape. "What?"

Temari grinned at him and lowered her eyelids, giving him a smoldering hot look. "Take me home and make me pregnant."

Shino sighed. "I've been asking you to marry me every day for a year and NOW you decide you want to get married?"

"Who said anything about getting married?" She teased him with every intention of finally accepting his proposal.

Shino stared at her a moment, his mouth hanging open. "Are you CRAZY?"

Temari's chin lifted as pride and temper took over. "What did you just call me?"

The Aburame sighed and backpedaled. "You know what I meant. I just think it's stupid to get pregnant before we get married. You are already comfortable within my family and they adore you!" Shino sputtered unhappily, running one hand through his unruly hair. "You SAY you love me."

"I do!" She snarled, her intention of saying yes to him sliding away as he said all the wrong thing.

"And now you say you want my child." He continued unchecked.

"I do." She softened her tone a bit as she thought on her adorable and beautiful nephew Kentaro. "I do want your child."

His own tone softened as he reached for her. "Then marry me."

Temari backed away from him, eyeing him warily. "Who says I have to marry you to get a baby?" Anger was speaking now, she hated to be backed into a corner.

The vendor beside them suddenly reddened and choked. Shino scowled and grabbed Temari by the arm, dragging her along beside him as they headed for her apartment. "I don't know how they do it in Suna, but here we have a modicum of decorum! And parents are married!"

"You're just saying that because you want to marry me." She accused angrily.

"Damned right I do." Shino snarked, then grabbed her keys and let them into her small place. "Though I can't think why right now. Oh, yeah …wait, I remember. Because _I love you_!"

Temari sighed and melted against him. "Oh Shino, I do love you."

The bug-ninja sighed in response and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head. "What am I going to do with you?"

"Are you wearing them?" She asked breathlessly, reaching out to unbutton his coat.

"No." He answered gruffly, helping her rid him of his coat and shirt.

Temari grinned. "Are you wearing the frog boxers? The ones with the dancing frogs or the ones with them laughing?"

Shino leaned down to whisper huskily in her ear. "I'm not wearing anything."

The blonde's eyes sparkled as she grabbed his waistband. "Oh, that's convenient. I like that." She teased him.

Shino closed his eyes and caught her hands. "No, no I won't let you distract me. I'm not going to make you pregnant on purpose. Not until we're married."

Temari groaned and stepped back. Her thoughts of saying yes to his proposal lost in the sea of pride. He was NOT going to manipulate her! "You've got to be kidding? I bend to your will, or what …you'll withhold your body from me?" She scoffed. "I can live without."

"Me too." He lied, gritting his teeth. "No more sex until we're married."

"Fine." She sneered.

"Fine." He growled.

Temari eyed him a moment, then reached up and grabbed his glasses. She tossed them over the small futon and smiled evilly. Slowly she began to disrobe.

Shino swallowed hard even as he reached for his shirt, to put it back on.

Slowly, as inch after creamy inch of skin was revealed, he shook his head. "I'm serious about this."

"Me too." Temari said, licking her lips as she walked away from him wearing nothing but a dark smile and a glint in her eyes. "I'm going to go take a shower."

"I'm leaving."

Temari tutted him, wagging her finger in his direction. "No, you have to wait for me. And picture me as I wash up. Remember? We're meeting the others for dinner tonight."

Shino sighed and watched her disappear into her bedroom. Every ounce of his being wanted to follow her. But he knew …he knew if he gave in …he'd never win the prize. "And you are a prize to win." He mumbled, then balled up his shirt in frustration as he heard the water turn on in the shower.

Under the cold spray, Temari gave into the tears she would never shed in front of him or anyone. Why couldn't she just say yes? What was wrong with her? Was her pride that important?

o.o.o.o.o

"Baby!" Yamanaka Chiyo raced out of the house with her arms thrown open wide. She grabbed her daughter in a bear-hug as Gaara called in his sand armor. He was just in time as the woman let go of Ino and grabbed him.

Kankuro watched with wide eyes as the ultimate weapon of Suna was smothered in hugs and kisses. He shook his head at the wonder of it all.

"Oi woman, the lad needs to breathe." Inoichi called out, shaking his head. "Or not. Maybe I can get my daughter back this way."

"Oh you!" Chiyo chided her husband and then pulled a quietly panicking Gaara into the house after her.

TenTen smiled at Ino who only had eyes for baby Kentaro. "Oh!" She breathed. "He's beautiful! May I?"

"Please!" The brunette kunoichi laughed and passed her the sleeping infant. "He's fed and changed, you came at just the right time." She and Ino headed into the house, but when Kankuro tried to follow them, TenTen slammed the door in his face.

Ino eyed her cautiously. "Still haven't forgiven him?"

"No." The other girl sighed. "Have you forgiven Gaara?"

"No."

TenTen shook her head. "Look, Gaara's not had a lot of practice having someone he cares so much about. He was just trying to do what he thought was best for me."

Ino's eyes widened. "You've forgiven Gaara, but not your own husband?"

"What's going on?" Inoichi asked, looking at the two girls dawdling in the front hall.

"Nothing." The two girls muttered and then disappeared upstairs, slamming the door shut so they could talk in private.

Chiyo watched with wide eyes as Kankuro came muttering through the front door and nodded at them all. "Sorry about that."

"What did you do?" Inoichi winced. "It's not easy being in the dog house."

Gaara looked startled and Kankuro laughed. "It's an expression Gaara, that's all. And we're both living in the dog house."

Inoichi straightened and eyed the shorter red-headed shinobi. His face brightened considerably. "Oh really?"

o.o.o.o.o

**Well, I had all the best intentions to do a one-chapter Epilogue. But ...there are SO MANY PAIRINGS! Why did I do that? Oh well.**

**Yes, in the NEXT chapter (the one you and I both didn't know I was going to write) ...there will be updates on the relationships with Lee/Matsuri, Naruto/Ayame, Gai/Shizune and many more. The little bit you got here will not be all there is! Promise.**


	48. Blunders

Yamanaka Chiyo tapped on the door before opening it. She smiled at the two girls as Ino looked around the room scowling.

"I gave the room to your brother, dear. So the boys wouldn't have to share a room anymore." Chiyo said lightly as she walked inside, looking at the posters of snakes, frogs and spiders. "I'm putting you and Gaara in the guest room." She said it as a test, to see her daughter's reaction about sharing a room with her husband. Was this a serious tiff or not?

Ino shook her head. "Have you thought about getting him some help, he might be mentally unbalanced?" She asked as she leaned down to peer into a glass container with a huge black tufted spider. "I always knew he was odd. Did you adopt him? I know he can't be my _real_ brother."

TenTen giggled and cuddled with baby Kentaro, who was still fast asleep though his tiny fists would twitch every now and again.

Pleased that Ino had not raised a fuss about being in the guest room with her husband, Chiyo chided them by clucking her tongue and taking a seat on the bed. "Boys have different interests and your brother is doing great work with poisons at the Academy. Your father and I are quite pleased with his progress."

Ino backed away from the spider with pretend fear, holding up her hands in defeat. "Yuck."

TenTen grinned at her blonde sister-by-marriage.

"Don't laugh." Ino pulled a frown and pointed at the sleeping baby. "You have all this to look forward to, don't forget! Kentaro will grow up to be a boy after all."

Kentaro snuffled and turned his head toward his mother's chest, seeking food even while asleep. TenTen smiled softly at him as only a new mother could. "This one is only interested in eating right now. Food, food, food! He should be an Akimichi." She grinned, no sting in her voice at all.

Chiyo laughed and shook her head. "Your young friend Hinata might have a say in that matter! Those two always look so enthralled with one another, and their marriage last year was simply gorgeous!"

Ino laughed and nodded. "Yes it was! And the flowers were wonderful, you did a great job mother."

"Speaking of weddings." Chiyo pursed her lips, paused, then pushed forward hesitantly. "Weddings lead to marriages and marriages aren't magical no matter what you girls might think nowadays. Marriages take work if they're to succeed."

Ino and TenTen frowned and shot each other telling looks as both blushed slightly.

Chiyo sighed and nodded. "TenTen? I know I'm not your mother, but you and my daughter are sisters by marriage now. So, this is for you as well. Just what in the world is going on?"

o.o.o.o.o

"Good morning, father." Hinata barely managed not to stutter around the one man that could still make her stumble with just a look. "Would you care for any refreshments?"

"No, thank you." His answer was perfunctory and cool while not enlightening at all.

Why was he here? Hinata drew up, wondering what was wrong. Was this something to do with Hanabi and Sasuke? During the past year the two had been together a lot yet respectfully chaperoned. Their courtship was the stuff of rumor and entertainment within the village, which didn't suit Lord Hiashi well. Still, he'd not put a stop to it, instead letting it play out naturally.

When her father didn't continue, Hinata just stared at his back as he looked around the private study of Choji's. He sniffed derisively and turned away. "You can hardly call this a library."

"We don't." She said softly, almost under her breath. Stiffening her spine she remembered that she was no longer his child, but Choji's wife. An Akimichi. "We call it the study."

Hiashi waved one hand dismissively. "These are all land use or farming books, and not very many of them at that."

"Choji has what he needs to manage _our_ property." Hinata's voice was still quiet, but she did put an emphasis on 'our', as in _not yours_.

The Hyuuga clan leader turned and gave her a long stare out of his pale, pale eyes. Hinata blushed hotly but did not step back or drop her gaze. Suddenly she felt awkward and like a little girl caught out in some mischief, not a grown woman. She fought to keep her hands still and not twitch at her rather elegant skirt. Hiashi grunted, but whether in approval or disinterest she wasn't sure.

"Father?" She verbally prompted him, wondering just why he was here. Whatever it was, she could already tell she wasn't going to like it.

"Why aren't you pregnant yet?" He said, the harsh words and tone making her eyes pop open widely in shock.

o.o.o.o.o

"Aoba?"

Startled, Yugao turned her head sharply and then gave Shikamaru a quick grin. "What about him?"

The shadow-nin, his hands lazily stuck in his pockets, shrugged. "He seems an odd sort of date for you."

The blue-haired kunoichi raised her eyebrows at that comment. Finally, she smiled at him. "Shikamaru, I haven't been out with Aoba in over a month. Are you so lazy that you just now noticed that we went out a few times?"

"No." Shikamaru's shoulders rounded slightly as he shrugged. "I've been away on a mission, just got back."

Yugao nodded and then lied as she smiled. "I hadn't realized. Welcome back."

Slightly stung in spite of knowing she was trying to play him, Shikamaru nodded. "Dating other men to try and get me to notice you is an Academy student's game."

The kunoichi smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant one. In fact, she looked rather predatory. "Is that what I'm doing?"

Shikamaru nodded slowly. "It took me awhile to notice."

Yugao sighed and shrugged. "Then I'll just have to keep on 'playing' as you put it."

The shadow shinobi eyed her warily. "What do you mean by that?"

The blue haired woman winked at him as she passed him, heading away. "I have a date with Kotetsu tonight. Then tomorrow I have a date with a friend of Iruka's for the Inuzuka wedding." She swung around to wave at him. "Although, if I'm only dating other men to get your attention, then why when you were gone on your mission did I have not one but several dates?"

Shikamaru smiled. "So you did notice I was gone."

Yugao sighed and shook her head. "Shikamaru, you're not worth my effort. I'm dating because I feel like dating. I'm not with you, because I don't feel like being with you. You had a chance, you let it slip away because it was all too 'troublesome' for you." She smiled beatifically at him. "Well, I solved that for you. I've gone my own way. No more 'troublesome' for you."

Shikamaru watched her walk away, appreciating the toned legs and hips as they swayed just slightly with each step. "Troublesome?" He murmured to himself. He hadn't known the true meaning of the word until she'd stopped bugging him. Now he was constantly aware of her in a way that he'd never experienced before.

Mulishly he pursed his lips together and began to plan.

o.o.o.o.o

"You did _what_?" Inoichi's eyes widened comically as Gaara just stared at him. "Are you crazy?"

Kankuro shifted uneasily on his feet and eyed his brother.

"I was once." Gaara commented dryly. "But I got better. The Akatsuki saw to that."

Inoichi waved one hand absently. "Yes, yes …the Sand demon is gone. But you, just you all alone without a demon in sight, did the stupidest thing a man could possibly do."

A 'pinging' sound began as sand particles started whirling softly within Gaara's gourd, a sign of rising temper. "Trying to protect my sister-by-marriage was a bad thing?" He said dangerously.

Inoichi's smile faded slowly, though he was still smirking. "You don't get it do you? Ino pulled a 'woman thing' on you." He shook his head slightly in sympathy.

Kankuro eyed the older shinobi. "Woman thing?"

"She's mad but won't tell you why, she says you should _already know_." Inoichi nodded as Gaara winced at the accuracy of that statement. "Poor guys, you didn't seek advice from any married men you know, did you?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed but he didn't answer, because he had NOT sought advice on this subject. He hadn't wanted anyone to know of his troubles.

Kankuro put it succinctly. "He's the Kazekage. Signs of weakness aren't allowed."

Inoichi nodded. "And my daughter played like everything was fine in public, is that it?"

"So what did he do wrong?" The puppet ninja asked.

"You sent TenTen back to Konoha under false pretenses just to get her here for the birth of the baby, yes?" Inoichi didn't even wait for them to nod. "The lie was bad enough, but Gaara …you basically stated in your actions that you don't trust Ino as a medical ninja."

Gaara's eyes widened as he hadn't looked at it from that angle before.

Inoichi nodded. "Much as it would delight me to let you flounder around on your own, you are my son-by-marriage now. This is fixable. Now that you know the probable reason for her temper, you can get off the couch."

Gaara frowned. "Couch?"

The blonde shinobi sneered slightly. "You probably have a guest room or something for when Ino kicks you out of your room."

Kankuro leaned forward. "So, how do I fix it with TenTen?"

"Ino didn't kick me out of the room." Gaara said slowly, the very idea was foreign to him.

Inoichi looked puzzled at his red-head son-by-marriage even as he answered Kankuro. "You boy, are screwed. You lied to her. Played with her emotions when she was pregnant. You're toast." He kept looking at Gaara. "She didn't kick you out?"

Gaara shook his head slowly. "And don't suggest it to her, I like where I sleep." His sand gourd rattled menacingly as he narrowed his eyes on his father-by-marriage.

o.o.o.o.o

Shizune was making a quick lunch before heading back to the Hokage tower when the front door opened. Without turning she smiled. "You're rarely home at this time, what happened to your training session?"

When Gai didn't answer, she gave a quick peek around her shoulder. She stiffened and narrowed her eyes on him. "What did you do?"

The Mighty Green Beast of Konoha blushed like a school boy, his hands behind his back. He smiled brightly, his teeth gleaming. But his eyes showed that he was nervous.

Shizune reached over and turned off the stove, a dripping spoon still in her hand as she turned to face her husband of nearly four months. "I repeat, what did you do this time?"

Gai's smile grew bigger and she sighed. With a soft curse she realized she was dripping sauce on the floor, Shizune tossed the spoon in the sink and grabbed a sponge.

"My lovely bride! My beautiful Shizune. Star of my sky, what makes you think …." Gai started talking in his usual brash voice. His smile was warm. His eyes were bright.

Shizune dropped to her knees to clean up the small mess she'd made. "Just tell me, okay? Did you bring more flowers?" She asked, shooting glances around the bloom filled apartment. "I thought I put you on petal restrictions."

Gai's smile dimmed slightly. "And I still chafe at those restrictions, my lovely bride! How can I show you how much I adore you …"

Shizune sighed and climbed to her feet again, tossing the sponge into the sink with the spoon. "If you want to get that house you've been looking at, you need to curb this tendency to buy me gifts! It's called a budget Gai."

The mighty shinobi looked bashful as he took in the sight of her scolding him. "You are so brilliant, my love! And I have not broken your restrictions or the budget you set about, though I think you are too stringent. A bouquet never hurt anyone."

Shizune smiled at him, taking a deep breath as she steeled herself not to give into his ways. It was so hard to resist him, especially when everything he bought was for her. Still, she gestured to all the full vases around their place. "Gai. I've only limited you to a bouquet a month, I think that is reasonable." She didn't mention that she'd tried to cut his flower-buying ways even further, but as he'd literally swept her off her feet and carried her toward their bedroom …she knew she'd lose. And she had. At the memory, she shivered at the tingling suddenly infusing her skin.

Gai frowned. "Are you cold my beautiful blossom?"

"N…no …" Shizune sighed and wondered if there was time to jump her husband before she needed to be back at the Hokage tower. A moment later she shook her head. "What was that?" She asked, not sure of what she'd heard.

Gai went still as a statue. "What? I didn't hear anything."

Shizune frowned. "Then how did you know I was speaking about something I …there it is again!" A small mewling sound coming from … she looked behind Gai and sighed. "You didn't shut the door. There's a cat out there or something."

Gai grimaced and brought his hand forward as the kitten mewed again, probably in protest of being held for so long.

Shizune's eyebrows shot up in surprise as her mouth dropped open.

Gai smiled at her engagingly as he held up the pretty little orange striped kitten. "It's not flowers." He said almost apologetically.

o.o.o.o.o

Hinata felt like she'd just swallowed an entire group of mosquitoes, so sudden was the pain in her stomach. "W…what?"

Hiashi's eyes narrowed on his eldest child. "You heard me child, I want to know why you aren't pregnant yet. Is there a difficulty between you and young Akimichi? You _**are**_ sharing a bed with …"

Hinata went beet red, then pale white. She swayed slightly as she held up one hand to forestall his words. "That …that is not something I care to …discuss with you." She stammered softly, unable to meet his gaze.

"Well?"

The long-haired kunoichi shook her head. "We're fine." Was all she could gather the courage to say to such an insulting question. "We're fine."

Hiashi grunted. "Good. Well, I've made an appointment for you this morning with the head of the obstetrics department. Do not worry, he has the utmost discretion and this will not be bandied about the village. Go on, go get ready."

When Hinata didn't move, Hiashi sighed. "Go on child, the sooner we get this done the sooner …"

"No."

Funnily enough, it took Hiashi a moment to realize that it was his daughter that had spoken, so forceful was the one word. No hint of stammer or anything. He eyed Hinata as she took a deep breath and raised her head to stare at him. "No, father. I respectfully decline your …offer."

The Hyuuga clan elder looked slightly taken aback a moment, then recovered. "I said go get ready."

"No." Hianta reaffirmed, then gracefully walked over to the door of the study. "I would be pleased to offer you tea or refreshments."

Hiashi frowned sharply, this wasn't going as planned. "Child …"

"I am no longer your Hyuuga child." Hinata said, still in the softly sweet voice lined with something stronger. "I am an Akimichi. I'm afraid you have no further say in the course of my life. Now. Would you like some fresh tea?"

"No, I don't want tea!" Hiashi struggled not to shout, though his voice was loud and harsh. _How dare she defy him?_ It took a moment, but he was able to calm himself and look at her with fresh eyes. "You look more and more like your mother every day." He commented.

Startled, Hinata flushed slightly, unused to compliments of any kind from her father.

"Still, your mother was a compliant woman who knew her place."

"You mean she was willing to let you rule?" Hinata commented, dropping her gaze. "I assure you, I don't rule Chouji. We are a couple."

The Hyuuga leader frowned. "You need to be more biddable. You are a wife now." He shook his head at her. "You have been married for six months now, plenty of time to conceive a child. And why have you not yet retired from active missions?"

Hinata's stomach felt like a pin cushion, but she gamely took a deep breath. "Chouji and I have decided to wait to start a family. We want to be together first, just the two of us."

"I forbid it."

All hint of blush faded from Hinata's cheeks as she looked up at her father in wonder. For the first time in her life, she felt like she held the upper hand. She was well and truly married now, and was no longer, in effect, a Hyuuga at all. "You can not forbid it. This was not set forth in the wedding contracts and you have …you have no say in this very personal _Akimichi_ matter."

Hiashi drew a deep breath, his temper stirring angrily because he knew she was right. "Don't you know that you are a failure? As a kunoichi and a wife. Does that sit well with you?"

Hinata stood as tall as she physically could, facing down the tyrant of her childhood. "On second thought, I do not feel the need to serve you tea in my home. Perhaps you need to wait to visit again …until such time as you are invited." Her soft tone belied the strength of her words.

"Invited?" Hiashi sputtered.

Hinata nodded and steeled herself for whatever battle might come. "And if you are so lucky, for the birth of our first child in about two years …you _might_ receive an invitation."

To her great shock, her father didn't start a battle, but instead capitulated and swept from the room with his dignity barely intact. She had won. Raising one shaking hand to her stomach, she sank into a nearby chair and gave into the tears threatening her, so great was her relief.

o.o.o.o.o

The pink haired woman handed her daughter yet another tissue. Tanshi sighed and eyed the empty box, then looked over at the three other empty boxes. "Stop rubbing at your eyes, if you don't you'll be all red and puffy for tomorrow's ceremony."

Sakura wailed louder and Tanshi sighed. "Stop that. And don't tell me that there won't be a ceremony, we've already paid for this wedding and you are darn well going through with it."

"I'm not getting married!" The kunoichi wept some more and Tanshi stood

"Sakura? I'm going to the market for more tissue. In the meantime, use this." She handed her daughter something silky to use to wipe her face with.

Sakura was about to blow her nose when several things became clear. The material she was holding wasn't just silky it WAS silk. White silk. It was the obi for her kimono wedding dress. "Mother?!"

Tanshi shrugged. "If you're not going to get married in it, you might as well put it to good use. We paid enough for it."

"Is money all you can think of?!" Shouted an irate and blotchy Sakura, though she was careful as she folded up the precious material. "The wedding is OFF!"

Her mother sighed and reached out to wipe her daughter's cheek with her thumb. "Doing your make-up tomorrow will be fun, all those red marks. And your eyes are so swollen."

"Mother!" Sakura stood, her eyes afire.

"Good. Now that I have your temper riled, go find your young man, beat him into a pulp for whatever it is you're mad at him for and then drag him back for the ceremony." Tanshi paused and gave her daughter a small hug. "It doesn't matter if HE is black and blue, only _you_ have to look good. The day is for the bride after all."

Sakura screamed loud and long.

"Good." Tanshi sighed and rubbed her own eyes. "Now, I know that I wasn't very supportive when you started dating Kiba. But I've got to tell you, I've grown to care for that young man and I hate to see you throw away a good life together for something so stupid."

"STUPID!" Sakura screeched. "He whistled at another woman!"

Tanshi nodded. "So he was stupid. So were you. Girl, don't you know you were not meant to spy on his bachelor party? It was his last night as a bachelor and if all he did was whistle at some girl ..."

"Stripper."

Tanshi sighed at Sakura's mulish expression. "Did he go after her? Touch her? Follow her?"

"He followed her with his eyes." Sakura spat the words out. "HE WAS LOOKING AT HER!"

Tanshi nodded. "Proving he's a red-blooded male. Grow up. He didn't do anything with her."

Sakura mumbled something under her breath.

"What?" Tanshi said, shaking her head and laughing. "I didn't catch that, it sounded like you kidnapped the girl."

Hunching her shoulders, Sakura let her gaze slip away.

Tanshi straightened up in shock. "Haruno Sakura, what the hell have you done?"

The pink-haired kunoichi blushed hotly, knowing that it took a lot to push her mother into swearing. "I snuck in the back and paid her off, sent her somewhere else. I didn't actually kidnap her. I just gave her a bunch of money to scram."

"I just thought you spied, I didn't know you'd done something so …" Tanshi straightened a bit and thought about it. "Actually, I like that. As long as you didn't hurt her. You didn't, did you?"

Sakura bit her lip and shook her head. "Mother? Kiba sensed I was there and he got so mad at me! He even yelled at me!"

"Proving once more that he's male." Tanshi sighed. "What did you expect?"

"THEN HE WENT AFTER HER!" Sakura wailed and threw herself in her mother's arms. Tanshi sighed and patted her daughter's back, waiting for her to wind down.

o.o.o.o.o

Yamanaka Chiyo sighed wearily as she shooed the girls from Ino's former bedroom. She stared morosely at the spider her son kept in the enclosed glass container. "That creature really is disgusting."

"You agreed to let him keep it." Inoichi said, leaning against the door jamb.

Chiyo sighed. "He caught me at a weak moment." She said, making a face at the ugly and furry spider. "Heavens above, was I ever as foolish as those girls are now?"

"Probably." Inoichi grinned at her swift frown. "But maybe not as stupid as those young men were. Newlyweds. Bah."

Chiyo nodded and stood, smoothing out her apron as she suddenly sent her husband a harsh look. He waved his hands at her innocently. "No, I didn't give them bad advice just because I'm still mad that you let the creepy red-head elope with my only daughter."

"He's not creepy." Chiyo scolded her husband lightly. "I like him."

"I don't." Inoichi sighed. "But I'm trying."

"Good." Chiyo patted his shoulders as she headed out the door to go back to the kitchen. "Can you believe what Kankuro did though? I would have killed you dead on the spot if you'd done that to me."

Inoichi whistled. "You're not kidding. That was not a good move no matter if his reasons weren't terrible."

o.o.o.o.o

"A kitten?" Shizune looked stunned.

Gai petted the soft bundle of fur, holding it up to his face as the orange kitten swiped at his nose with her little paws. "This one is a fighter, I like that! Hana came by while Neji and Lee were training together."

"Oh, like you weren't training with them." Scoffed Shizune, knowing her husband only too well on that score. He could never let others train without joining them. It was just part of his nature. "But that doesn't explain this little beauty." She walked over and took the squirming kitten from Gai.

Reluctantly, Gai let the orange kitten go. He smiled as he saw Shizune cuddle the creature. "Hana came by and she was madder than I've ever seen her. Seems this cloth merchant had been about to drown a litter of kittens when she'd come upon him."

Instantly, the Hokage's assistant went on alert. "Did she hurt a civilian?" Shizune frowned, thinking about the mess this would cause.

Gai shrugged. "He'll live."

"How many broken bones?" Shizune sighed.

"Only two, I think." Gai mused as he reached out to run one finger over the kitten's nose, then grinned as it sneezed. "And he attacked her first."

"Any witnesses to that fact?" Shizune asked, greatly relieved.

"Her nin-dogs."

Shizune sighed, resigned to a long day at the Hokage's office. "This will be a mess, I just know it. The village won't take well to canine witness statements. Especially since her three nin-dogs don't speak like Tsume's does." She sighed again and rubbed noses with the kitten. "I'd better get back to the office before Tsunade hears about this."

"Uh, Shizune you might …" Gai wasn't fast enough as Shizune walked out the door. She looked down at the box sitting in her way in shock.

She turned and handed the orange fluffy ball of fur to her husband and then put her hands on her hips as she stared down at the box blocking their front step. "You took in the WHOLE litter?"

Gai gave her a big cheesy grin. "They're for you. They won't be much trouble!"

Shizune sighed and stared as the three kittens in the box scrambled all over each other, looking up at her with cute little eyes.

"And this doesn't break your petal restriction rules." He reminded her almost triumphantly.

Shizune sighed again and shook her head. "We may have to revise the rules."

"I couldn't choose just one." Gai walked over to pick up a second kitten, a soft striped gray one. "How can you choose just one?"

"Oh Gai." Shizune looked up to see him cuddling one kitten against his chest and grinning like an idiot as the other kitten mewed at him. She knew when she'd lost a battle. Stooping down she picked up the other two kittens. "You're cleaning up their messes."

Gai nodded and Shizune sighed, knowing who was _really_ going to be stuck with the majority of the work. And it wasn't him. One kitten licked her hand and she sighed, surrendering completely.

"New rule. No more living gifts without my direct approval first." Shizune stated firmly. "And we're going to find another home for at least two of these fur balls."

Gai grinned and nodded as they brought the new additions to their family into the apartment.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino steeled herself as she walked into the kitchen. Kankuro took one look at her and grinned, then excused himself. Gaara turned his pale-jade eyes on her.

"I'm sorry." He said quickly, the better to get it all over with.

Surprised, the blonde stared at him. "You never say that."

Gaara shrugged. "I've been assured that I was wrong and that I had to say that." He had no intention of ending up on the couch.

Ino sighed. "So you still don't know what you did wrong, you're just trying to 'fix' things."

The red-head sighed and ran through his options. Finally he shook his head. "I can't think of a single flower to cover this situation."

"There are several flowers that say I'm sorry." Ino pointed out.

"But none that say I think you're a great medical kunoichi." Gaara sighed. "You saved my guard's left eye just last week. None of my other medical staff could have done that, they told me so countless times."

Ino smiled in spite of herself. "They flatter me."

Gaara shook his head. "I don't think so. You were very impressive from what I saw before you shooed everyone out of the room."

"Surgical ward. And you had no business in there." Ino smiled, taking any sting from her words. "But if what you say is true, why did you …"

"Have you met my brother?" Gaara asked.

Shaking her head at the odd question, Ino gave him an 'are you kidding look'.

The red-headed shinobi continued as he pulled out a chair for Ino, who sat down without interrupting him. "Look at my brother's shoulders sometime. Then look at TenTen's hips." He shuddered involuntarily.

Ino bit back a laugh as she shook her head. "We'd already planned a C-section. TenTen just isn't built to handle …"

"Exactly!" Gaara nodded. "And you told me yourself that you'd not had extensive experience in ..ob …obse …you know!"

"Obstetrics?" Ino supplied with a small smile. "As insulting as it was to have you and your brother pull a stunt like that just to get her to Konoha ..." She sighed. "You really have no clue why I am angry, do you? The real reason."

Gaara pulled back, looking at her warily. "I've already apologized." He pointed out, just in case she'd missed it.

Ino sighed, resting her chin on her hands as she stared at her husband. "I can forgive you for not trusting my expertise in obstetrics."

Gaara let out his pent up breath, a small smile forming on his lips before her next words knocked him cold. "What?" He asked.

Ino stared at him. "That wasn't why I was mad. Am still mad."

Gaara shook his head. "But that's the only thing I've done that ..."

"Just as I thought." Ino nodded grimly. "You've got no clue, do you?"

o.o.o.o.o

After leaving the kitchen, Kankuro waited for TenTen to show up. When after about ten minutes she didn't, he scowled. He headed outside to see his sister standing there with Shino. They were staring down the street.

"TenTen just left didn't she?"

Temari frowned. "Sorry."

Shino nodded his agreement. "Temari, you shouldn't have done that." He commented.

Temari shrugged as Kankuro stiffened. "Now what?"

"TenTen said she was tired of staying at her mother's. Said her mother likes you too much and was feeding you information." Temari said with an apologetic look. "So she asked to stay at my place."

Kankuro nodded, then shook his head. "Your apartment is too small. There's only one bedroom."

"Yes. I think Temari just agreed to let her stay at her place though and she would move out temporarily." Shino frowned, not liking this. He couldn't visit her as easily if Temari was staying with someone else. Then again, he frowned harder, since he was boycotting sex until she agreed to marry him maybe this was the best thing after all.

"I'm staying with you now." Temari grinned at her younger brother. "Roomie."

Kankuro just groaned and took off after his recalcitrant wife.

o.o.o.o.o

**OUCH! I thought I could finish it in this chapter. I really, really did. But I still hadn't touched Lee/Matsuri, Neji/Hana and Naruto/Ayame. Kakashi too.**

**I promise I am not deliberately dragging this out. I just don't want to rush the ending, it needs to be done right. So yes, that means at least one more chapter in the (ever-growing) epilogue.**


	49. Closing In

Kankuro paused outside the door of Temari's small one-bedroom apartment. Temari had let TenTen take the apartment for the time being. The puppeteer's hand was raised to knock when he sighed and scowled. Why should he bother to knock? TenTen was his WIFE. And he'd been apologizing constantly for three months straight. To no avail. Maybe he should be a man and just go in and tell her to get over it.

Not even two seconds later he sighed despondently. Yeah, like that wouldn't just make matters worse! He snorted to himself. TenTen would take his head off for that one!

Still, any decision he might have made was suddenly stolen from him when the door was yanked open leaving TenTen frowning out at him. "Are you coming in or not?"

Kankuro sighed and told the bald truth. "I'm sick of apologizing." He said almost wistfully, his dark gaze falling to the bundle TenTen was holding over her heart. "I'm sick of begging for time to spend with my wife and son. I miss you."

Beautiful large eyes blinked out at him and a long moment passed before she nodded and held out Kentaro for him. The puppeteer's arms reached out automatically and gingerly took the infant into his own embrace. He looked down at the sleeping boy and then up at his wife in surprise. "It can't be that easy."

Embarrassed that she'd fallen victim to the haunted look in her husband's eyes, TenTen lied. "He was getting heavy, that's all."

Knowing her well enough to spot the falsehood, Kankuro turned his smile from her to the baby. He walked inside slowly, cradling the infant in his arms.

"I didn't invite you in." TenTen frowned, not having meant to sound so witchy. She sighed and rolled her shoulders. "And don't go thinking this means you're forgiven."

The puppeteer laughed gently. "I know you didn't expect me to hold Kentaro out on the porch. It is spring, but I don't want him to get cold." He winked at her as he passed her on the way into the apartment.

TenTen nodded and watched as Kankuro settled onto the futon. Both parents held their breaths as the baby sighed and yawned, one fist twitching.

"I wonder what he dreams about?" TenTen asked with wonder as she leaned over the back of the futon, her cheek next to Kankuro's as they watched the baby intently.

The puppeteer took a deep breath, breathing in her scent, one that was uniquely hers. He turned his head slightly to look at his wife as she stared down at the child they'd created together. "I know what I dream about." He said softly.

TenTen caught her breath and straightened suddenly as she tried to hide the small trembling in her fingers. Even furious at him, he still had the power to call to her senses. Trying to turn the subject, she headed for the kitchen, turning her back on him. "Are you hungry? I can't seem to get enough to eat anymore. I'm no longer pregnant and I thought the hunger would ease. Shizune says that it will as I stop breast feeding." She rambled on, uncomfortable as she headed toward the small pantry. "I have no idea what Temari has in here."

"I'm not hungry, you go ahead though. I had nikujaga earlier." Kankuro answered absently as baby Kentaro started snuffling and yawned again. "I think he's waking up."

The puppeteer grinned and looked up at his wife, only to stop cold as he caught the frigid expression on her face. He winced. "Now what's wrong?"

"You had nikujaga?" TenTen hissed. "My mother's famous home-style dish? What were you doing at my parent's house? Are you and my mother conspiring behind my back, AGAIN?"

o.o.o.o.o

"No, I don't like that color."

Surprised, Hanabi spun around, the cloth in question held tightly to her chest. Her wide eyes narrowed on Sasuke as he sneered down at her from less than a foot away.

"You let your guard down." He frowned at her in disapproval, his dark eyes narrowed on her.

Hanabi sniffed and ignored his sour mood. She held out the fiery red cloth with sprigs of green throughout and studied it carefully. "As much as I'd like to disagree, this color isn't quite me. But as I'm not purchasing the material for me, then your point is moot."

Sasuke frowned sharply, then relaxed. This wasn't the color you'd buy for a male. "You still let your guard down." He ruthlessly pointed out.

Hanabi shrugged. "I noted you at the point where I entered the market with the Byakugan. After that, I ignored you."

The Uchiha's temper didn't improve with her casual words as she dismissed him and turned to the merchant to discuss thread purchases. He didn't care one iota if there was a thread to match the color of the material in question.

"Are you seeing Sakura tonight?" The offhand manner of the question threw him for a moment, then behind Hanabi's back, Sasuke's eyes lightened with victory.

"Maybe." He hedged, though truthfully. A smirk graced his slips as he caught the slight stiffening of her shoulder blades. Oh, she wasn't ignoring him. She only wanted him to _think_ she was! Served her right, after tweaking his nose out of joint with her "date" with the minor noble's son last month.

"That's nice." Hanabi choked out the lie without a change in her expression. She was rather proud of that too, though the insides of her mouth felt like sawdust. "Watch out for the Inuzuka though. He has fangs."

"Not worried." Sasuke said deadpan, then lifted his lips to sneer at her. He entertained the thought of dragging this out to torture her, but just couldn't bring himself to play the game. "Sakura is getting married tomorrow."

Hanabi nodded, pressing her lips together. "I thought she and Kiba broke up?"

"I repeat." Sasuke leaned down to stare into her eyes. "Sakura IS getting married tomorrow. She and Kiba may be fighting, but have no fear …they'll work it out."

"She loves him." Hanabi said as she watched him carefully, to catch any change in his expression. Hoping that she'd see nothing even resembling regret in him.

Sasuke nodded slowly and deliberately, letting her read his face as he answered without remorse. "Indeed she does."

Slowly Hanabi relaxed, a smile even touched her lips.

"How old are you now?"

Hanabi stopped and gave him a strange look. "You brought me a gift for my birthday, you know perfectly well how old I am."

"Sixteen." He nodded. "I was going to wait until you turned seventeen. But not anymore."

Suddenly a flock of moths felt like they were attacking Hanabi's stomach. From the inside. She swallowed hard and tried to keep her reaction from showing. "Excuse me?" She whispered hoarsely as sudden visions of him leaning down and giving her a first kiss made her sway slightly. A bit dizzy, she blinked to try and clear her eyes.

"I'm not going to wait." He deliberately teased her, not telling her what he knew she wanted to know.

"Oh." Hanabi breathed and tried to shrug and walk away as if she didn't have a care in the world. But it didn't work right. Her shrug was wooden at best and she knew she was breathing too fast at the moment, and when she turned to leave she ran her knee right into a display table. "OUCH!"

Sasuke caught several bolts of fabric before they fell as the merchant shot Hanabi a disapproving frown.

"Don't you want to know what I'm no longer waiting for?" He called out softly, almost menacing in his tone as he eyed her like prey to be captured.

Hanabi shook her head 'no', then nodded, then frowned and shook her head 'no' again.

"When you make up your mind, meet me at the Igakucho restraunt to discuss matters."

Hanabi nodded, then frowned sharply. "When should I make up my mind?" She suddenly growled and sneered at him. "I mean to ask when you want to meet. _To discuss matters_."

"Seven." He nodded at her, suddenly all business as he left out the shop swiftly and silently.

Hanabi's heart slowly slowed to a normal rhythm as she tried in vain to decipher what he had planned. And what he wasn't going to wait on. Surely he wasn't thinking of kissing her? Was he? _Was he?_

o.o.o.o.o

"So." Gaara paused, unsure of his reception. He'd much rather face the Akatsuki again right now than …. "Ino?"

"Yes." She gave him a small smile from across her mother's kitchen table. "Dear?"

Gaara winced. Her words were taut with meaning that he couldn't decipher. He just stared at her. This was awkward enough, but it was worse now because he knew his parents-by-marriage were just upstairs. If this blew up in his face, he didn't want witnesses. Especially Inoichi, who would be only so happy to let Ino come home.

Gaara frowned as he continued to stare at his wife. Like hell he'd let her leave Suna. He'd drag her back home if he had to do so.

Ino sighed as she read his mule-stubborn face. "Begonia." She said, trying to make it easier on him. To let him know where he stood, to let him know to proceed with caution and to choose his words carefully.

The red-head stiffened. "Beware? Don't begonias mean 'beware'?"

The blonde kunoichi nodded slowly. "They do indeed."

Gaara nodded, mulling that over carefully before he tried an opening gambit of his own. "Jonquil."

Ino eyed him. Jonquils meant many things, but she'd bet a lot that the meaning he was looking for was a desire for the return of her affection. "Aster." She parried. "And begonia."

Gaara shook his head. She'd just said she loved him, but also to beware. He was confused. She'd been so _angry_ lately and he'd thought it was for his part of deceiving TenTen into coming to Konoha. But Ino had just informed him that there was ANOTHER reason she'd been so angry at him. "Calia lily." He said, calling her 'beautiful' in their own special code.

Ino smiled at him sadly. "Tulip." She paused as his face brightened. "A tulip and a yellow tulip, together."

Gaara shook his head.

Ino nodded slowly at him.

He scowled. A plain tulip was a declaration that he was a 'perfect lover'. However, a yellow tulip meant that their love was '_hopeless_'. "No." He avowed firmly, using his best Kazekage voice. "I won't allow that."

"Maybe." Ino sighed and leaned forward, unfazed by his show of authority. "Oleander." She cautioned him again, giving him yet another 'warning'.

Gaara frowned at her, lost. Bewildered. Finally he shook his head, growing frustrated. "Purple carnation." He thrust verbally at his wife.

Ino's eyes flew wide as she snapped at him. "I am NOT a purple carnation!" She yelled, utterly appalled.

Upstairs Inoichi and Chiyo only caught the last part as Ino yelled at Gaara. Inoichi looked puzzled. "I like carnations." He muttered.

Chiyo though was pursing her lips. "That wasn't a very nice thing to say."

Inoichi looked at his wife. "What? I think carnations are pretty. And Ino looks good in purple."

Ino's mother sighed and shook her head at her husband. "All these years living with me and you still don't know the meaning behind flowers."

"Hey! Roses mean love!" Inoichi pointed out. "I know that one!"

"Purple carnations don't though." Chiyo sighed absently as she listened for the slamming of the front door. But the sound never came.

o.o.o.o.o

"Kindly keep your paws out of my ponzu, thief!" The words were hissed, low and mean sounding.

A whine and two whimpers followed as the three Haimaru triplets dropped to their bellies. One nin-dog 'woofed' in quizzical apology.

Hana sighed at her set of canine companions as they looked up at her with soulful eyes. "Not you three. HIM!" She pointed at an unabashed Neji who was smiling at her as he reached across the table and quite rudely nabbed her ponzu dipping sauce for his shabu shabu.

Another whine followed with a series of small barks and yelps. Hana sighed. "I know that _technically_ he doesn't have paws, but that …oh damn it! It's just a figure of speech, that's all!"

Tsume grinned and shook her head as she stole the ponzu dipping sauce from Neji and used it for her own dish.

"HEY!" Protested Hana. "Leave some for the cook!"

"Cook?" Neji queried as he tried to sneak the sauce back from Tsume, but drew back as she bared her fangs at him. "What cooking?"

"I ordered, I picked it up, I carried it home …" Hana waved a hand as if she couldn't be bothered with small details like who actually cooked the meal they were all sharing.

Neji feinted left and when Tsume went right instead, he grabbed the ponzu sauce. From the left. "That wasn't a real feint." He commented dryly as he calmly put the sauce down next to his own food.

Two Inuzuka women eyed him menacingly. Neji countered by activating his Byakugan. He'd learned early on that defense and offense were more important at this clan's dinner table than manners. It was refreshing after the stilted dinners he'd had to sit through recently with the Hyuuga family.

The attack, when it came, was sudden and fierce. Neji's hands blocked each and every move toward his food by the two women. But then, with his hands busy, he couldn't eat his food. It was a stalemate. He frowned.

Tsume grinned. "If I can't have the sauce, then at least I get the moral victory and you can't eat it either!"

Hana sighed and reached down into the carry-out bag, pulling out another container of ponzu sauce. Calmly, ignoring their arch looks, she opened the dish and proceeded to eat. Tsume's growl finally had the young Inuzuka heir looking up, looking completely innocent and slightly puzzled. "What?"

Tsume looked over at Neji's surprised face and grinned. "Is this kind of behavior why you haven't proposed yet?" Her words hit the target as Hana suddenly choked on her food and struggled to keep from spitting it out all over the table.

o.o.o.o.o

"What was that again?" The shinobi stared at his son a little bemused.

Shikamaru slouched farther into the seat at the bar, ignoring the sounds of jovial jokes and sake orders surrounding them.

"How did you choose mother?" Shikamaru repeated himself, acting bored out of his mind.

Shikaku wasn't fooled though, he grunted and took a large swallow of his drink. "Son, for a sharp and smart jounin …you're an idiot."

"Yah, yah." Shikamaru waved off the comment as of no account. "Just tell me."

"Idiot. I didn't choose your mother, she chose me."

Shikamaru paused and recalculated his options as he tried to fit that piece of information into his plan.

Shikaku refilled his cup and shook his head sadly. "That pretty Sand kunoichi chose you and you messed that up. My friend Inoichi's girl chose you and I don't have to tell you that you messed that one up too. Then that blue-haired girl …"

"Yugao" The son provided the name with a frown.

"Well, you let _her_ get away too. And she could stand up to your mother, quite the catch that one." Shikaku shrugged heavily. "You're an idiot. The trick is to STAY chosen, not to let them get away."

"I wasn't ready then." Shikamaru pointed odd blandly. "But I'm thinking that maybe now …"

Shikaku saluted his only son with his now-empty cup. "Good luck. You're going to need it. Because the way I see it, this is one game you've already lost. Three times over."

Shikamaru gave a hefty sigh and rolled his eyes. "Aren't fathers supposed to give HELPFUL advice?"

Shikaku paused, thought about it and nodded. "Good point." He turned to the bartender. "Another round, with another cup for my idiot son. Who knows? A cup or three and we might come up with a HELPFUL plan."

Shaking his head in disgust, Shikamaru slouched his way toward the exit.

o.o.o.o.o

Tsunade winced as Sakura opened the door. "Is there enough make-up to fix that face for tomorrow?" She said, appalled at the sight of her student.

Sakura wailed and ran into her room, slamming the door.

Haruno Tanshi scowled as she winced. "That's NOT helping." Her voice was accusatory, but restrained. This was the village's Hokage after all.

Tsunade shrugged and marched over to the closed door to Sakura's room. She knocked.

"GO AWAY!" The pink-haired girl yelled out through the door.

"I win money if you call this wedding off for real." Tsunade grumbled. "But I also want you to be happy, so …which do you want?"

"GO AWAY!" The response was still yelled out through the closed door. But now the lock was thrown with a metallic 'click'.

Tsunade raised her eyebrow at the sound. "Do you really think that will keep ME out?"

"GO AWAY! Please just go away!" Came the wailed reply.

"Well then, I'll go away." Tsunade said smoothly.

"Good!"

"And I'll take my information with me." The blonde Hokage said, then made noises with her feet as if leaving while slowly clamping down on her chakra signature to make it look like she was really going.

A long moment passed while Tanshi watched nervously. But no reply came from beyond the locked door. Her hands started shaking so she crossed her arms to keep the tremors from showing.

Tsunade scowled as her patience waned quickly. "Would you really have let me leave without getting to know what it is that I know?"

"Bad gambit." Sakura's voice was muffled as she replied. "You never left. Your shadow didn't move from under the door."

Tsunade looked down at her feet, then over at the bright lamp next to the futon. Tanshi sighed and gave the Hokage an apologetic look as if to ask forgiveness for owning the tell-tale lamp in the first place.

"Fine. Then this time I really will leave, and since I happen to know where Kiba is right now …." Tsunade let her voice trail off.

"I don't want to see him!" Sakura's rage was clear, even through the door. In fact, the sudden sound of something breaking against the wall had Tanshi's eyes going wide.

"That's fine." The Hokage nodded, this time moving toward the exit for real. "I'm not so much worried about him anyway. He's not alone."

The door to Sakura's room was nearly ripped off the hinges as she didn't even bother to unlock the door before opening it. Splinters of wood showered the area as her mother shrieked and held her hand over her mouth.

"What?" The kunoichi said with deceptive calmness.

The Hokage smiled in triumph. "He's at training field twelve. Or THEY were, as of ten minutes ago at least."

With a furious look, Sakura growled and ran off after her recalcitrant betrothed.

Tanshi watched her daughter leave, being careful to stay out of her wake. Finally, she turned her wide eyes on the Hokage. "Do you have money on Kiba's death?" She whispered hoarsely.

"No." Tsunade grinned. "I should have thought of that too. Too bad."

"Then why did you send her out there to kill the poor boy?" Tanshi pointed one long, elegant finger out her door. "They could both get hurt."

The blonde kunoichi cocked her head to one side. "Aren't you wondering about your possible future son-by-marriage being alone with a stripper?"

Tanshi choked, then laughed. "He's not with the stripper. He's with Akamaru. Even I could see through that one."

Tsunade grinned, rocking back on her heels slightly as she looked smug. "Sakura didn't."

"Do you really have money on them breaking up before the wedding?" Tanshi asked, not sure if she should be amused or appalled.

Tsunade frowned suddenly. "Yes, but my bet was on a month before the wedding. I think some fool pair of Suna chuunin win if Sakura and Kiba break up _now_. I can't let those fangirls win _my _betting pool. That's just …wrong."

o.o.o.o.o

Temari growled low and purred as Shino's hand traveled up the back of her top. Lost in the moment, it took a heartbeat or two to realize that he'd stopped. Her growl of pleasure turned into a low rumble of warning. "Don't stop." She whispered.

"Marry me." He said, nipping at her bottom lip.

She grinned. He frowned. Her grin faded and his frown deepened.

"I will not be held hostage for sex." She snapped, pulling back.

"I told you. The next time we make love we will be married, or at least legally bound in betrothal." Shino muttered, ignoring the siren's call of her lush body as he grimaced in the pain of self-denial.

Temari narrowed her eyes on him. "It's going to be snowing in the desert before I give in to this!"

Shino shrugged, acting more blasé than he felt. In fact, inside he felt almost panicky. Why had he dared to give her an ultimatum? Temari of all people! She didn't deal well with being told what to do. He knew that! Had he just gutted his own chance at happiness?

"I can last longer than you can!" Temari snapped at him.

Happy that she wasn't just plain walking away, Shino smiled at her. His dark eyes glittering with some dark emotion as he re-donned his glasses. "We'll just see who can last longer!"

o.o.o.o.o

Kankuro eyed her warily. "Your mother likes me." He said almost gently. "And she never conspired against you. That was just me." The puppeteer paused a moment, then threw the others to their own fate. "Baki and Gaara too."

TenTen scowled, then let her frown fade as she sighed deeply.

"Before we did anything, anything at all …I begged you! Got down on my knees and begged you to come to Konoha for Kentaro's birth. I've never begged for anything in my whole life! Never! But for you, I begged."

TenTen sighed and looked away. "You faked a letter from my mother saying she was deathly ill."

"It got you to Konoha." Kankuro defended himself. "The medics are better here about baby-stuff. Even Ino says so."

"You lied to me. LIED! To me! Gave me …that was my mother you lied about! MY MOTHER!" TenTen protested. "You had me believing my mother was …"

The puppeteer shook his head. "You were being so stubborn about wanting my child to be born in Suna. I just wanted you both to be safe! Even Gaara and Baki were worried. Our medics told you that your hips weren't built for this! Even your mother forgave me once she spoke to the medics here."

"So you lied? You couldn't come up with something ..."

"I did what I had to do." The young father paused as suddenly the infant in his arms shifted, blinking his dark eyes open. "Hello there. Your mother sure is stubborn. I love her though. But her temper is a sight to behold."

"And your father is …." TenTen huffed, but couldn't think of the right words. So instead she simply beaned him in the back of the head with a handy orange.

"OUCH!" Kankuro winced. He peeked open one eye as he looked down at his son. "Don't worry, her aim is wonderful. You were never in danger. And if the fruit _had_ happened to ricochet toward you, daddy would have caught it. Yes he would."

"Ha, ha! Very funny." TenTen groused, though she was a bit ashamed of her actions. "Sorry."

"You're forgiven." Kankuro drew out the words, savoring the sound of them. "See how easy it is to say? You're forgiven. Just two words, or is it three? Oh well. C'mon, you try it! Kankuro, you're forgiven."

She snorted.

"Come on, see …it's easy if you try. Kankuro, you're forgiven." He grinned over at her.

TenTen fought back her smile.

"And you're strong, and masculine, and I appreciate you more and more each day." The puppeteer smirked at her as she watched him. "And oh, Kankuro …you're sexy as hell!"

Losing the battle, TenTen giggled and shot him a murderous look. "Idiot." She chided him softly.

Kankuro looked down and caught his breath. "He's smiling at me." He whispered in total awe and wonder.

"That's gas. He's not smiling yet, it's just gas." TenTen corrected him as she started to head back to the kitchen.

Chakra strings attached themselves to her and yanked her back toward the futon. "That is a smile!" Kankuro groaned in delight. "Look!"

TenTen settled down next to her husband as they both intently watched baby Kentaro blink at them. "He's not doing anything." She smiled down at the infant, more in love with him every day.

"Wait for it." Kankuro cooed, leaning down. "Your mother thinks I'm sexy."

TenTen started to pinch his ear when suddenly Kentaro smiled. She blinked and stopped breathing. "Oh!"

"See?!" Kankuro grinned over at her even as she grinned fatuously back at him. They both laughed and stared at one another before the smiles faded, but the looks didn't. "I've missed you. I love you." He whispered.

TenTen leaned forward and her lips met his, clinging. It was a very, very long moment before the duo came up for air.

"I missed you too." TenTen groaned as she leaned in to nestle against him. "But if you EVER lie to me again, I will gut you like a fish."

"Deal." Kankuro sighed happily and leaned in for another long, drugging kiss.

Looking up at them, baby Kentaro waved his tiny arms and smiled again.

o.o.o.o.o

Ino watched the sand enclose them completely, and though she knew it to be pointless, she kicked the wall of the sand dome out of sheer irritation.

"Capricious, whimsical and changeable." Gaara said slowly. "Purple carnation."

"I am not!" Ino whirled on him, her eyes afire with temper. "And you're a jerk!"

The red-head frowned. "There's no flower for 'jerk'?"

"No. And I'm NOT a purple carnation!" The blonde hissed.

"Pink larkspur?" Gaara suggested, his own temper rising as his pale-jade eyes went cold.

"FICKLE?" Ino shrieked, her voice hurting his ears, but he refused to give her the satisfaction of wincing.

"If the shoe fits."

"I'll beat you to death with that fucking shoe!" Ino stalked up to him, her face and inch from his, ignoring the fact that she couldn't physically get through his sand armor, not without serious planning and assistance.

Gaara blinked slowly at her. "I happen to love you just the way you are." He said with blunt honesty.

Ino's rage deflated suddenly and she shook her head, almost dizzy. Sighing, she stepped away. "You can get me so worked up. It's not fair."

The red-head wasn't through though. "If you're not angry at me for my part in deceiving TenTen ...and also not for calling into question your medical prowess …why have you been so angry?"

"I thought we were a couple." Ino held up one hand as he opened his mouth. "No, you want to know? Fine. I thought we decided right from the start to approach everything as a team. The two of us against the world. Whatever happened, whatever comes, that we would face it together."

Gaara frowned and nodded. He remembered this conversation early on in their marriage when Ino had accepted an invitation to visit some minor nobility on his behalf. A move of which he'd heartily opposed. "We agreed to consult each other on major decisions. As long as it wasn't directly involving my office as the Kazekage."

"You let me down." Ino said, looking away from his rather intense gaze. "You broke your promise."

Gaara scowled. "I said I was sorry for my part in deceiving TenTen. But I couldn't tell you or you might have …"

"_Might have_." Ino shrugged. "We'll never know if I would have sided with you guys against her or not. You didn't ask." She sighed. "But I told you, I'm not really mad about that. Not really. You and your brother had your hearts in the right place, even if you did act like jerks in going about it."

He grunted, not liking her calling him a jerk. "So why …"

"I heard you." She said quietly, looking up to pin him with her tear filled gaze.

Gaara caught his breath. He HATED it when she cried. His skin started tingling and he felt all jumpy inside. "Don't …"

"You and Kankuro were in the waiting room while TenTen was in surgery for Kentaro's birth. I came back from getting tea." Ino sighed heavily. "I overheard you talking."

Gaara shrugged. He didn't recally saying anything offensive, especially not about Ino.

"You said that you were glad that Kankuro had a family now. Because you weren't ever going to have children."

Gaara nodded. "True."

"And when were you going to tell me that?" Ino's voice rose alarmingly. "When were we going to make THAT decision as a couple? Huh?"

The red-headed Kazekage was no fool. What he could read in Ino's body language and her tone of voice told him many, many things. The most important thing though? That he'd screwed up big time.

o.o.o.o.o

Yamanaka Chiyo walked into her kitchen and eyed the dome of sand. She could hear nothing from inside it, the dome was sound proof. Shaking her head she just hoped Gaara wouldn't leave any of the sand behind when they were done 'talking'. Chiyo prided herself on keeping a clean house.

o.o.o.o.o

**Looks like 50 chapters is the magic number, so one more. I hope! LOL! Hope you enjoyed!**

**BTW ...I had a reviewer ask me what did Kentaro's name mean. I had made it up using Kankuro and TenTen's names, but to answer this reviewer, I looked the name up. Just in case. Well. It is a real Japanese name. And it means "Big Boy". I didn't plan that, I swear ... x.x**


	50. Clover and Forget Me Nots

To his credit, Neji only blinked hard and his hand merely paused in midair as he ate. He took his bite of food and chewed slowly and thoughtfully.

"_Is this kind of behavior why you haven't proposed yet?" _Tsume's question was loaded with explosions. He would have to take the next few moments very carefully.

Tsume and the canine company stared at him openly while Hana flushed slightly and was looking down at her own food. Part of her wanted to protest her mother's tactics and bluntness …while part of her wondered why it had taken so long herself. So she too waited anxiously for Neji's answer.

"She's Hana. Her behavior does not bother me." Neji replied smoothly.

The kunai thunked into the table next to his place with enough force to cause Hana's ponzu sauce to slip off and hit the floor, splattering everywhere. Not even the dogs seemed to notice or care as they all stared at the quivering weapon a hair's breadth from Neji's hand.

The Hyuuga looked up at Tsume and cocked one eyebrow over his pale-eyed gaze. "Your behavior on the other hand …" He let his voice trail off before casually dipping his chopsticks back into his shabu shabu. However, this show of coolness was all for affect. Neji wasn't at all sure what he would do when he took the next bite. His mouth was suddenly so dry he wasn't at all convinced he could swallow without choking.

Tsume's overt threat wasn't the issue however, it was the word. The one word. _Proposed_. He couldn't even pretend to misunderstand that the Inuzuka clan leader was asking about a marriage proposal. From him. He glanced at Hana surreptitiously even as he continued to face Tsume.

Hana. He took in her clean face and sleek hair. Nothing fussy for Hana, nothing frilly or simpering either. But rather than making her look plain, the lack of female _stuff_ just made her …glow. The force of her personality drew him like a lodestone. She didn't need any products to make her beautiful. She simply was …and _damn_, but he loved her. Had for a long time now. But …crawly things invaded his skin as he put his hands down lest they trembled. One problem was that he was _branch family_, Hyuuga branch family. She was the Inuzuka clan heir. He knew she cared deeply for him, but …until this very moment he'd never even considered if Tsume would accept such a bond between he and Hana.

"You didn't seem too pleased with the thought of us marrying last year." He reminded her gruffly.

Tsume's eyes narrowed. "Eloping is different."

Neji shrugged and put his chopsticks down in order to pick up his tea. He was now sure that he'd choke if he tried to eat anything. Maybe something liquid would be better?

"Coward." Tsume groused, deliberately prodding at him verbally.

"Coward?" Suddenly his temper flared and he put down his tea cup without taking a drink. "Turn that gaze on your own blood, not me." Neji sneered.

From where she sat watching, Hana stiffened as her eyes snapped up. "Excuse me?" She glared at Neji as she frowned sharply.

o.o.o.o.o

Shino stared into the mirror and nearly felt like throwing up. _What had he done? _How stupid could a guy get?

"Who can last the longest?" He whispered and hung his head as he washed his hands. "Am I an idiot?"

"Pardon?"

Shino swallowed and shook his head as he left the restroom.

Kakashi stared after him, shaking his head. Whatever was bothering the bug-ninja, the boy had it bad. Whistling happily, he washed his own hands before heading out to join Iruka as they finished moving into their first apartment together. He grinned happily through his mask at the mirror. He'd waited a long time for this.

o.o.o.o.o

Lee's smile gleamed whitely, causing the girl to blink at how his face shined up at her, full of heart-felt emotion. She swallowed hard as tears pricked her lovely eyes.

Ayame's hand trembled and she clasped her hands together, only to have Lee take them in his own hands as he dropped gracefully to one knee. Ayame's breath caught as she waited anxiously for his words.

"Is the right knee better? Or the left?"

Suddenly she could breathe again. Her voice was a bit hoarse though as she answered. "Hmmm, let me think about it a moment."

Lee looked over at Naruto as the blonde perched on the tree trunk. "What do you think?"

"Yes, Naruto …what do _you _think? The left or right knee?" Ayame asked, casting a longing look over at her boyfriend. Wanting desperately for some clue as to how he felt about her …in the long term.

The blonde shinobi scratched his head and shrugged. "I don't think it matters much."

Lee started practicing his kneeling, first going down on his left leg, and then the right. Ayame ignored the green-clad shinobi as she glowered over at the blonde. "It doesn't matter? _It doesn't matter_?! How could you be so cold?! Your friend has asked for our help in making his marriage proposal perfect, and all you can say is IT DOESN'T MATTER?"

Helplessly, Naruto jumped up. "Sorry Ayame, of course I'll help!" He ran over to Lee as the two young men began practiced kneeling, completely missing her sour expression.

A harsh crunching sound startled the two shinobi long before the sound reached Ayame, but when they turned to watch the east, so did she. A moment later a pink-haired blur raced by them, a deep scowl on her usually pretty face.

Ayame looked startled as she gaped open-mouthed at the departing kunoichi. "Was that …Sakura?"

"Poor Kiba." Naruto intoned, then went back to his practicing.

Lee shifted from foot-to-foot, uncertain. "Perhaps we should …"

Ayame held up one hand imperiously. "You boys know all about ninja stuff. But this is wedding stuff, trust me …its better not to interefere."

Lee snapped to attention and actually saluted her. "Yes ma'am!"

"Now, which hand are you going to present the ring with?"

Naruto and Lee looked at each other and then both shrugged. Lee flushed in embarrassment. "I haven't thought of that, I was worried about which knee to kneel with first."

"Yeah." Naruto backed him up, nodding. "First the knee, Ayame."

The young woman sighed and shook her head. "Are you right or left handed?"

Lee looked puzzled for a moment, then grinned bright as the sun. "Oh, you are MOST brilliant! I will present the ring with my right hand, as I favor the right side, though only slightly as I can fight equally well with both …"

"Lee!"

"Oh yes, right." The green-clad shinobi's smile grew in intensity. "So if I present with the right hand, I should kneel with the left!"

"You're brilliant, Ayame!" Naruto's smile was no less bright than Lee's.

"No. you should kneel with the right and present the ring with the left."

Both shinobi stopped and stared at her as if she'd lost her mind.

Ayame sighed and smiled gently at the two young men. "You present with your left hand, so that you have your better hand free in order to place the ring on her finger. You do not want to appear clumsy in that moment, after all."

Lee's eyes went huge as his mouth dropped open in shock. Then he laughed and threw back his head, dropping to his right knee and holding up his hands to mime _the moment_. "PERFECT!"

"Nice! Thanks Ayame!" Naruto grinned and put his hands behind his head, rocking back and forth happily. "You're the best!"

_The best_? She wondered. _The best_? Did that mean that he wanted to get married at some point in time? Or not? Ayame frowned, distracted.

"Oh beauteous Matsuri!" Lee began, kneeling on his right knee and holding up a small jewelry box with his left hand. "Psst …that's you Ayame!"

The young lady nodded, blushing as she'd forgotten her part. Ayame forced a smile and looked down at Lee, though she did peek over at Naruto in order to gauge his responses. She seriously hoped this romantic practicing of Lee's would give Naruto some incentive, some training …some idea! Anything!

Naruto caught her look and grinned at her, giving her a thumb's up sign, then pointed to his watch as if to tell her to speed it up. She caught her breath as the blonde shinobi then turned away and went back to his perch on the tree trunk, no longer watching the two of them.

Ayame looked back down at Lee, blushing furiously in embarrassment. Clearly, Naruto had no intentions of proposing anytime soon. Looking down into Lee's smiling face, it started to hurt to smile like she was.

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara stared at Ino, not sure where to even begin. "Purple hyacinth." He whispered. _I'm sorry_.

"Aloe." She told him, her voice barely audible.

"Grief?" Gaara watched helplessly as one lone tear fell slowly down her soft cheek. His muscles ached with the need to cross over to her. Pride stood in his way, and his uncertainty of her reaction. "Don't cry." Was the best he could manage.

Two more tears joined the first and Gaara swallowed hard. "I am sorry." He said plainly, not hiding it in their personal code.

"For not consulting me?" Ino asked, her voice thick with emotions that he could not fathom. "Or for not wanting children …with me."

"Not just you, anyone. It has nothing to do with you." Gaara spoke quickly, though not moving from where he stood. "I don't want children."

Ino nodded and looked at him. "Cyclamen." It nearly tore her heart out to say it.

The effect on Gaara though, was more visible.

o.o.o.o.o

Standing in her kitchen, Chiyo was sipping her tea and watching the dome of sand when suddenly, the sand wavered. Her tea cup half-way to her lips, Chiyo stared as waves of sand trembled and just as quickly firmed.

Just what was going on in there?

o.o.o.o.o

Tsume held up one hand, but it wasn't enough to stop a pissed off Inuzuka. Hana was already over the table and hauling a complacent looking Neji to his feet, his long hair swinging forward as she yanked on him.

"What did you say?" She hissed as her fangs grew and her fingertips sharpened to lethal looking talons as her temper flared hot.

The Inuzuka clan leader sighed and struck at Hana's hands with vicious looking talons of her own. Her daughter pulled away just in time, as it was Tsume only cut a few strands of Neji's long hair as her hands passed in front of him.

They all watched the three strands of black hair settle on the table. A long moment passed, then they all looked at each other cautiously.

Tsume cleared her throat and glared at the young Hyuuga male. "Did you just call an Inuzuka a coward? Much less my heir?"

Neji crossed his arms and stared down the two angry Inuzuka women as if he wasn't frightened in the least. It was a lie. Oh, he didn't fear bodily harm. Only the results of his next words. This could win him the battle …and every prize there was. Or lose him everything. As a spur of the moment plan, he just prayed to heaven it worked. Not to mention, it was how he truly felt.

"I love Hana more than I can express." Neji frowned as he poked a finger through his robe, wiggling it.

Hana flushed very slightly in embarrassment, as she'd poked those holes with her little tantrum. And his words had a burning effect on her blood. Suddenly she felt overheated.

"And I would be honored beyond measure if she would want to marry me." Neji continued. "But I can not ask her."

Both women frowned sharply and four nin-dogs stood and growled, baring fangs at the young man.

"I await her question." He said stoically, waiting on pins and needles for her response.

Hana shook her head in shock. "You expect ME to ask YOU? You're the male! It's your place to propose, not mine!"

"You're the higher rank." Neji reminded her softly. "You are the heir to your clan. I am but branch family."

Drawing back, Hana shook her head at him. He nodded at her. Tsume looked thoughtful, then shrugged. "He might have a point."

"And the Inuzuka are a matriarchal clan, after all." Neji continued, his voice controlled and even. "I had hoped that one day you might see me as a potential husband …"

"IDIOT!" Hana grabbed him and leaned in, kissing him for all she was worth.

Tsume grinned and looked down at the nin-dogs, who were looking royally confused. "At ease. All will be well."

Hana came up for air, gazing into the heated pool of Neji's pale eyes. "Will you marry me, idiot?"

Neji laughed and nodded, wrapping his arms around her lovingly.

Tsume signaled to the dogs to follow her and left the newly engaged couple to themselves. She whistled a jaunty tune as she grabbed a light jacket and headed over to see Lord Hiashi about some wedding contracts.

At long last.

o.o.o.o.o

So distracted was he in his morose thoughts, Kiba didn't sense her arrival first. That was left for Akamaru, who whimpered and dropped his tail between his legs and laid down at the base of the tree, hiding his eyes.

The Inuzuka male sighed and looked at his dog, then turned and searched with his chakra enhanced senses. He steadied himself for her arrival, the thought of running never even crossing his mind.

Sakura skidded to a stop just in front of him, dust and dirt blowing up in his face. Kiba blinked and flinched back as he waved one hand in front of his eyes. "Watch it!"

But the pink-haired kunoichi was too busy looking around the area until her vision cleared and reason reinserted it self. Inner-Sakura gave way to outer-Sakura and logic dictated her conclusion. "You're out here with just Akamaru, aren't you?"

Kiba nodded grimly. "Who did you think I was out here with? A whole club-full of strippers?"

Her face flushed beet red, reminiscent of Hinata at her most flustered.

Kiba drew up sharply. "You think so badly of me that you would think that?"

"No, of course not!" But her furious blush gave lie to her words. "Oh Kiba, I'm sorry!"

The shinobi sighed and leaned against the tree at his back, looking down at Akamaru, who still was hiding his eyes. "Sorry for what? Thinking the worst? Not trusting me? Ruining my bachelor night?"

Sakura bit her bottom lip and ran one hand through her hair.

"Or for agreeing to marry me in the first place?"

His words struck the breath from her lungs. "How could you ask that? I love you!"

Kiba growled and launched himself without warning from his lounging position, to square in her face. His snarl echoing in the clearing. "If this is how you act toward someone you love, spare me!"

Sakura pulled back, feeling hurt and unsure. Suddenly inner-Sakura poked her, hard. Temper flared once more. Her hand came up and she shoved him back hard enough that he struck the tree he'd most recently been leaning against. Bark and tree debris rained down on him.

"I thought you loved me!" Sakura yowled. "How could you go after that slut?!"

"You scared her off! I went after her to make sure you hadn't hurt her!" Kiba hissed.

Sakura drew back, hurt pouring from her eyes as they teared up. "I paid her off, I didn't hurt her! How could you think that of me?"

"You were acting all crazy!" Kiba yelled, then dodged as her fist connected with the tree behind him right where his head had been one second ago. He jumped out of the way as the tree gave an ominous cracking sound.

Both of them eyed the tree, but it didn't give way. Sighing, Kiba turned back to Sakura. "I would never betray you. Not with some stripper, even though she's actually a nice girl. Besides, Chouji hired her for my bachelor night, be mad at him!"

Pausing, Sakura backed up a step. "Chouji? Sweet, nice, married Chouji? He would never look at a stripper …"

"Men look. But you're right. Chouji would NEVER betray Hinata and touch the girl. And neither would I betray you for that matter."

"Chouji?" Sakura was still looking dumbstruck.

Kiba snapped his fingers in front of her eyes, drawing her attention back to me. "Yeah, Chouji. Apparently it was the same girl that Shikamaru hired for Chouji's bachelor night. At Hinata's suggestion I might add."

"HINATA?"

Kiba nodded.

"NO!"

Kiba shrugged and nodded again. "The girl doesn't have any family, they died when she was young and she's trying to save up enough money to open her own vending stall in the marketplace. Hinata likes her."

"Hinata …knows a stripper!"

Kiba sighed and rolled his shoulders. "Try and follow along, will you? Hinata knows a SHOP GIRL. The shop girl does some …side work …trying to raise money for her own stall. Hinata cornered Shikamaru before Chouji's bachelor night and suggested this girl because she knew the girl isn't a slut and wouldn't do anything Hinata would be uncomfortable with. Shikamaru is no idiot, and hired the girl."

"And Chouji hired the girl for your bachelor night?" Sakura nodded, still feeling disjointed. "Why Chouji?"

"Because Shino had no clue about hiring a stripper and Chouji said he'd take care of it. Though I think it was Hinata who actually hired her for my party."

The tree that she'd struck earlier sway slightly as another cracking sound reverberated through the area. Both eyed the tree, again though, nothing happened. Sighing, they turned back to face each other. A long moment passed.

Quietly, Sakura looked down and dug into the ground with her foot. "You whistled at her."

Kiba winced. "I knew you were watching and I was angry you didn't trust me."

"You knew?" Sakura looked up, startled. "I used a different scent, suppressed my chakra, and …."

"Neji saw you."

"Oh." Sakura shrugged. "The Byakugan."

Kiba nodded and took a deep breath. "I asked him to check out the area. I …I thought you ….I'd hoped you would trust me."

"I do trust you!" Sakura looked up at him and caught his disbelieving look. Hurt, she reached out for his hand. "I just …a bachelor night! One last night to do anything with no recriminations! I …was …I was jealous. And when I saw the stripper, I …well, I saw red. Then you whistled at her, like she was hot."

"She is hot."

Sakura's face fell into mulish lines as she glared at him.

Helplessly Kiba shrugged. "She is hot! But she's not you and I love you. Besides, you're the one who makes my blood boil over." He paused and gave her puppy dog eyes. "The one I've waited over a year for. Waited. Me. ME, Sakura. For you."

"You don't whistle at me." She said plaintively.

Kiba growled and wrapped his arms around her, nestling her head in the crook of his shoulder. "I beg, whimper, plead, manipulate, pretend to be hurt …anything …just to get closer to you."

Sakura giggled. "That twisted ankle you pretended to get? Pathetic."

The dog-nin grinned, but didn't comment. He'd gotten her blouse off with that twisted ankle. He didn't regret it a minute. "I have fond memories of that night." He said gruffly.

Sakura pinched him, but only lightly. "Jerk."

"Marry me?" He asked, pulling back to look at her. Kiba didn't even wince at her reddened eyes or tear streaked face. "Please?"

Sakura caught her breath and tried not to melt at the look on his face. "You …you just want to have sex."

Kiba laughed and tickled her, his hands running up to places not allowed. Sakura blushed, but didn't push his hands away. "Are you marrying me for that?"

Sobering a bit, Kiba let his hands trail back down to neutral territory. Then his hands dipped down to her rear-end, pulling a squeal from her as he yanked her in tight to his body. Shocked green eyes stared into laughing dark eyes.

"I'll have sex with you any way I can get it. Marrying you is just a bonus. Besides, it's basically a way of marking my territory."

"Mark …marking your …territory?" Sakura's eyes nearly crossed as she felt the powerful evidence of his body wanting her. She clung to him, not sure that if he let go she'd be able to stand up on her own.

Kiba growled and dipped his head to nibble on her neck, pushing aside the fabric of her top to taste her collarbone.

Sakura's legs would no longer hold her and she fell against him. Without a wobble, Kiba picked her up in his arms. She looked at him and came to a momentous decision.

"I'd better get you back before …"

"Take me there." Sakura pointed to a small building off to the side of the clearing.

Kiba shook his head, but Sakura nodded.

The buildings were usually used for infiltration training, storming buildings and residences and such. But …the buildings were also not an unknown place for illicit romantic liaisons.

"You've kept me waiting for over a year. And NOW you decide to ….why Sakura?" Kiba's voice was hoarse with desire, but he didn't move toward the buildings. Not yet.

The pink-haired siren in his arms leaned in and licked his ear.

Kiba's knees wobbled dangerously. But still, he didn't carry her off. "Tell me." He whined. "Why now?"

"Because …" She nibbled on his ear, making him feel lightheaded. "I do trust you. Completely."

"You don't have to prove anything to me." Kiba protested, but his reluctance was waning fast even as he swiftly carried her over toward the training buildings. In fact, so eager was he that he almost started to run, even carrying her.

Sakura grinned and laughed. "I want to …because I want you." She breathed and giggled as he found the door to the building locked.

One foot kicked out heavily and the door was no longer closed or locked. In fact, Sakura looked at the broken lock and just knew it couldn't be repaired. She giggled again.

In the clearing, Akamaru raised his head and wagged his tail. When the tree behind him creaked again with a sharp breaking sound, he scrammed to the front of the building where Kiba and Sakura were. He stood guard at the open door and eyed the tree warily.

It continued to stand though and made no more sound.

o.o.o.o.o

"I refuse to let you say goodbye." Gaara growled low and angry, closing the gap between them. He didn't reach for her though, not trusting himself. "Take it back."

Ino shook her head. "Cyclamen. Resignation and goodbye." She quoted from the flower language book.

"No!"

Her scent teased him as she gave him a tear-filled look. "I want children."

Gaara stared at her a moment, but then shook his head. Then suddenly, his eyes went really wide. "You were angry at me …but you didn't kick me out of our bed!" It was said almost accusingly.

Unsure of where this was going, Ino shrugged. "Did you want me to?"

"You're _trying_ to get pregnant! Even knowing that I don't want children, you are deliberately trying to ….admit it!"

Ino stared at him in a cross of towering rage and deep amusement. "Are you accusing me of trying to steal a baby from you? What, like I'm lying in ambush trying to hijack your sperm? Are you crazy?"

When she put it like that, it did sound off the wall. But Gaara couldn't think straight right now. The threat of 'cyclamen' had him over the edge. Like hell she would leave him!

"Admit it! You want a baby!"

"I've already admitted that!" She yelled at him, ignoring the cold look in his eyes and focusing on the throbbing pulse in his neck. "I want a baby!"

"And you've been sleeping with me ever since you found out that I didn't want a child. Just to get pregnant!"

The slap startled them both. Gaara raised his hand to his face in stunned disbelief. She hadn't hurt him. Not with the sand armor, but she'd hurt him far deeper than the mere physical. He staggered back a step from the emotional toll of her strike.

"I don't need to do that." She whispered. "I'm already pregnant."

o.o.o.o.o

Chiyo screeched as sand burst everywhere and she caught a brief glance of her daughter and son-by-marriage before the sand dome reinforced itself. Shaking, she took a sip of her tea, then grimaced.

Dumping out the tea laced with sand, she frowned over at the dome of sand in her kitchen and prayed for the best. She raised one hand to her heart and was grateful that Inoichi wasn't here to see this.

o.o.o.o.o

"That was too much!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear. "Did you hear old bushy brows?"

"I was right there." Ayame sighed unhappily. It didn't look like Naruto was taking the hint and planning his own proposal. "And Lee was being extremely sweet."

"What was that whole speech about gardens and flowers about?" The blonde shook his head in wonder. "I don't know if Matsuri will even GET that he's proposing, he hid the words in a bunch of flowery nonsense."

"She'll get it. Trust me." Ayame said and stopped to stare longingly at a cloth merchant's shop. The store was closed now, but the silk on display was so lovely. Something befitting a wedding. "Matsuri is lucky." She whispered.

"Lucky how?" Naruto asked, puzzled as he looked to see where his girlfriend was looking. He didn't see anything special in the silk cloth though. It was too fancy for her to wear to work.

Ayame turned on him, nearly knocking into someone else as she spun. "Lucky that she has a gentleman who understands things! The way things are now I'll have to do the asking!" She walked away in a huff. Naruto staring after her.

"What in the world?" He muttered under his breath.

"Clueless." The voice had Naruto turning back toward the person that Ayame had knocked into.

"Oi. Temari." Naruto pointed after his departing girlfriend. "Did you understand that?"

"Yes." The Sand kunoichi grinned at him and shook her head. "But I'm not going to explain it. That's your job to figure out." She turned away and then spun back to face him. "Just …pay attention to her. Pay attention and you'll figure it out."

"Thanks Temari!" Naruto yelled and raced off after the departed Ayame.

The blonde smiled sadly, hoping SOMEONE would get it right. Because she was sure mucking it up pretty badly.

Temari was miserable. Yes, she could last longer than Shino, she was sure of it. But why deny herself? And why deny herself his company? She loved him! Why oh why was she being so stubborn? She knew she was being unreasonable, but pride stood in her way.

With a heartfelt sigh she touched the window of the shop, looking longingly at the wedding silks on display. With dawning of hope, Ayame's words came back to haunt her

"_Lucky that she has a gentleman who understands things! The way things are now I'll have to do the asking!"_

She WAS lucky to have Shino. And he DID want to marry her. In fact he was driving her crazy asking her. But she felt like she was losing the battle somehow. That if she submitted then she'd lose who she was entirely. Which was a total and complete crock and she knew it!

So. How to accept his proposal without looking weak? How to get him to marry her without saying yes to his proposal?

"_Lucky that she has a gentleman who understands things! The way things are now I'll have to do the asking!"_

Suddenly Temari went still as a one of the monuments carved on the cliff over Konoha. THAT WAS IT!

o.o.o.o.o

Gaara's face was closed to her. Cold, freezing cold in his expression. "You are what?" He said with deceptive calmness.

"You heard me." Ino swallowed nervously, her hands going protectively over her belly.

Gaara nodded. "Cyclamen indeed."

Shocked, the blonde trembled. "You can't mean that!"

The red-head shrugged. "You said it to me first."

"You would leave me and our child? OUR child, Gaara!"

"Your child." He responded coldly. "You knew that I didn't want children and deliberately set out to …."

"I was already pregnant on the journey to Konoha." She said, stopping him in his tracks.

He shook his head. She nodded.

The reason I was so damned angry was that I was going to tell you I was pregnant when I overheard you talking with your brother. Before that, I had no clue you didn't want children." She stared at him accusingly. "And it is our child, Gaara. It took both of us. And it was not deliberate."

Gaara stared at her, his heart breaking for the hurt he'd caused her already. And for the fact that he had no idea how to fix it.

"The reason I didn't kick you out of bed, was that I needed to have you near me. I needed to be close to you because I was feeling lost." Ino's tears were flowing freely now. "I turned to you and you were there for me, even when I was obviously mad at you and you didn't know why."

Gaara nodded, then shook his head. "I …I don't know what to say."

"Come find me when you do." She turned to leave, but found the sand dome still in place. One look from her eyes as she looked back at him had him lowering the dome reluctantly, not wanting to let her go despite his harsh words.

Chiyo watched the sand dissipate and drew in a sharp breath at the lost and hurt expressions on both their faces. "Ino? Gaara?"

"I'll be back." Ino whispered and left the kitchen.

Chiyo looked desperately back at Gaara. "Are you going to let her go like that?"

"I can't stop her." The red-head sounded miserable, totally miserable. Chiyo's heart broke for him.

"She's pregnant." Gaara said bluntly.

Happiness welled within her, but she didn't smile, knowing it wouldn't help the situation. "Congratulations?"

Gaara turned to look at his mother-by-marriage. His expression was the same as ever, but his eyes …the pale-jade gaze that was usually so cool actually looked empty. Lost, empty and …filled with fear the moment Chiyo started to advance on him.

Her arms were around him before he could decide what to do. The sand armor was in place, but it couldn't protect him from the emotional turmoil surrounding him.

As she held him, something curious happened. Gaara's arms rose of their own accord and were around her before he even knew what was going on. For the first time in his life, he felt what it was like to be comforted by a mother.

o.o.o.o.o

Matsuri looked overwhelmed as after dinner, by the light of the fire in the hearth, in the expensive restaurant where he'd made reservations, Lee slid gracefully onto his right knee. In his left hand he held a ring box.

o.o.o.o.o

"That was …interesting." Sasuke commented dryly as he finished watching Lee propose to his Sand darling.

Hanabi watched and tried to wipe her tears away without him noticing.

Sasuke groaned. "Don't tell me you LIKED that whole speech about flowers and gardening and love blooming eternally."

"Okay, I won't tell you." Hanabi sneered at him. "Just because you have no romance in your soul."

"I brought you here, didn't I?" Sasuke asked, a bit stung. "That's romantic."

Hanabi's eyes widened. "Is this supposed to be romantic?" She looked around at the candlelit table top and the scrumptious food spread out on the table.

He scowled at her and she giggled. "Alright, I'll admit …it is romantic. But I still don't know why you asked me to meet you here."

"Haven't you guessed?" Sasuke leaned across the table to look at her. His dark eyes glittering with the candle light. "I'm not waiting and this is our first."

"First what?" Hanabi leaned in as well. "Date? I thought that was when I braided your hair at the hospital."

He leaned back, irritated. "You make it difficult, you know that?"

"I try." She smiled, but inwardly she was shouting and jumping for joy. This really was a DATE! A real date! "Oh and Sasuke?"

The Uchiha looked up at her, tensed for whatever barb she threw his way.

"This is really nice. Thank you."

Slowly he began to relax.

Hanabi watched him and wondered about the rumors she'd heard about how terrible a kisser he was. Now. How to get him to use his Sharingan to learn how to kiss spectacularly? Because she certainly didn't want him to learn on his own. Through practice. Without her.

o.o.o.o.o

The next day was beautiful and clear. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and it was the perfect day for a wedding.

Only there was neither bride nor groom.

"Are you sure she didn't say anything to you?" Haruna Tanshi looked frazzled as she paced up and down her small kitchen.

Ino drank her tea and shook her head. "No. But I'm sure she'll show up." She got up to rinse out her cup. "Thank you again for letting me stay over last night."

Tanshi nodded absently. "I was grateful for the company."

Ino nodded and leaned against the kitchen counter, her energy zapped at it was still so early.

"Are you trying to keep it a secret from your parents? Until you're ready to tell them?" Tanshi said baldly. "Because anyone who knows you, any woman who has been there before you will be able to guess rather quickly."

Ino smiled sadly. "Husbands don't though." Not even bothering to deny the guess.

"Oh." Tanshi nodded. "Is your Kazekage not happy about the baby?"

"He doesn't want children." Ino sighed. "Ever."

Sakura's mother looked shocked at that. "That's awful! Maybe you'd be better off staying here. Your mother and father would be thrilled to have …"

"He's not awful." Ino sighed wearily and sank into a chair. "His mother died giving birth to him."

Tanshi shook her head. "That is sad, I'll admit. But I thought Sakura told me that it was because the old Kazekage sacrificed her or some such."

Ino nodded. "For power. Gaara's father put the sand demon in him while he was still in the womb, but that always demands a living sacrifice. The Kazekage made his wife that sacrifice."

"Well. I certainly wouldn't want to carry on the line of such evil people." Tanshi sighed unhappily.

"They're not evil." Ino's temper was pricked. "The old Kazekage, sure. But not Kankuro or Temari and certainly not Gaara." She paused for a long moment, then had the grace to blush. "Well, not Gaara ANYMORE. He's not evil. He even started to change for the better before the demon was removed by the Akatsuki."

"What if your young man doesn't see himself as clearly as you do?" Tanshi said, having gotten Ino to defend Gaara, which had been her object all along. "What if he is scared of passing along the blood of his father?"

"He loves Kentaro." Ino said slowly, then realized that of them all, Gaara was the one who least held the small infant. And every time he did he acted like something horrible was going to happen until he could get someone else to take the child. She dropped her head into her hands with a wail. "I'm so stupid!"

Tanshi clucked her tongue, passed over the tissue box to the blonde and patted her shoulder.

"I was so focused on how betrayed that I felt, I wasn't thinking about his feelings! How scared he must really be about the whole thing!"

Sakura's mother nodded and comforted the young woman the best she could.

o.o.o.o.o

Sakura smiled as she listened to the heartbeat of the man lying under her. She knew the moment he woke. A second of disorientation, then his arms wrapped around her strongly. "Good morning." She kissed his chin.

"Yes, yes it is a very good morning." He sounded like a contented tom cat, bursting with pride and energy.

Sakura grinned and nodded her chin to their right. "Do you know when the tree fell on that side of the building?"

Kiba looked over to the side, shocked. The tree hadn't actually entered the building much. A broken window, a few branches poking inside that hadn't been there last night. Then he grinned. "I didn't hear that."

"Me neither." She admitted ruefully.

"I guess …the wedding is back on?" Kiba grinned at her.

Sakura smiled back, then blinked and sat up in shock. She looked out the window and groaned, grabbing the sheet. "THE WEDDING!"

Kiba rolled over and tried to find his pants as he too suddenly realized that they both had somewhere very important to be this morning. "SHIT!"

"Where's my …"

"Have you seen my pants?"

Sakura threw him one of his boots as she made a grab for her tunic.

"Have you seen my pants!" Kiba roared yet again.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari knocked on her own apartment door, then blinked in surprise as the door was jerked open by her own bare-chested brother. "Oh!"

"Temari?"

The blonde nodded. "It is my apartment after all." She looked at her brother and saw the contentment in his face and nodded happily. "Things are working out?"

He grinned.

"Well, I've promised to watch Kentaro this morning so that TenTen could get ready for the wedding. Bring me my nephew!" Temari smiled brightly.

Kankuro smiled back at her. "I'm here, I can look after him …hey! What are you doing?" He looked down at the kunai suddenly in her fist.

"I said bring me my nephew." She grinned at him. "I get to keep him this morning."

"But you don't have to …"

"I want to." She assured him, then cooed at the baby as TenTen brought him to the door. "Oh there you are!"

"Thank you for doing this." TenTen handed a sleeping Kentaro to his aunt. "Here's everything you need." She said, handing over a small pouch.

"No problem, I've been looking forward to this. Haven't I?" She cooed to the still sleeping infant.

Kankuro rolled his eyes. TenTen elbowed him. "Behave. In a few years we'll be desperate for a babysitter, enjoy it while it lasts!"

o.o.o.o.o

Tsume looked at Hana's beaming face over the breakfast table. "I take it things went well?"

"They did." The young Inuzuka heir smiled happily. "We're going ring shopping later."

"Who's buying the ring? He made you propose." Tsume asked curiously.

"Neji wants to buy the rings." Hana grinned. "So …where did you disappear to yesterday? Not that I minded."

"Yeah, I'm sure you didn't." Tsume said ruefully "And I was starting the contract negotiations with Hiashi."

Hana straightened up. "How did he respond?"

Tsume frowned. "Surprisingly well. Almost like this is what he secretly wanted all along." She paused to think it over. "I'm going to have to watch myself in these negotiations, Hiashi is a master at these things."

o.o.o.o.o

"And she showed me the ring!" Ayame gushed over a late breakfast with Naruto.

"You saw the ring yesterday." The blonde reminded her. "Several times!"

Ayame smiled prettily. "It's not the same! This time it was on her finger!"

"It was too decorated." Naruto yawned and rolled his shoulders. "Not my taste."

Ayame frowned sharply at him even though he wasn't looking at her as he continued speaking.

"When we get married, I want something simple. Not plain, but defiantly more simple than the ring Lee picked out."

Ayame's face froze for a moment and it took her a good long minute to remember how to breathe. "W….wh …when …we …"

"Ayame? I have a question to ask you."

The girl eyed him like he was a wild animal she wasn't sure would charge or not. He'd just announced they'd get married one day, what _question_ did he have now?

"Why were you upset yesterday? Did Lee hurt your feelings somehow? I'm sure he didn't mean it." Naruto blinked over at her, his blue eyes so earnest.

Seeing his expression, seeing him clueless but wanting to please, Ayame melted. She smiled at him and reached over to take his hand. "No. I'm not mad. Everything's fine."

Naruto smiled brightly at her. "That's good! I'd hate it if you were unhappy. I never want to see you unhappy."

Ayame smiled at him, more in love than ever. And she told him so.

o.o.o.o.o

Temari was carrying Kentaro when she spied Shino. He was standing in the street looking at a display in the shop window. She smiled as she saw what he was looking at and stopped beside him.

"I like the darker purple silks trimmed with the lilac and cherry." Temari told him as she too looked at the silks in the window.

"You'd look amazing in that." Shino said gruffly, he looked over at her, unsure of himself. He spied the baby and smiled. "Kankuro know you kidnapped his son? Again?"

"He knows." Temari smiled winningly. "He was over there. With her. Toghether."

Shino's eyebrows rose at the news. "Took her long enough to forgive him."

"He did something stupid."

"His reasons were sound."

Temari shook her head. "Those two just made up, let's not have their argument FOR them."

"Agreed." Shino said, then wondered if it would do him any good to propose again.

"Will you marry me?"

The soft words shook him to the very core. Shino turned to stare at her as if he wasn't sure that he'd heard her right. "What?"

"I asked you to marry me." Temari said, sticking out her chin pugnaciously.

Shino's mind raced, a thousand questions running through his head. Instead, he simply nodded. "Yes."

Temari frowned at him. "Just like that?"

Shino nodded again. "Yes."

"What about your pride? Doesn't it feel like you're submitting yourself to a woman? Doesn't it feel like …."

Shino put his hand over her mouth. "Shut up."

She bit him.

He grinned at her. "You asked, I answered and if you back out now I'll sue you for breach of promise and take Konoha to war against Suna."

Her eyes widened and she shook her head at him. He grinned and nodded at her. She scowled. His smile grew. "Well damn, to avoid war it looks like I'll have to go through with it." She mock pouted, but her eyes were gleaming with happiness.

"Let's go." Shino put his hand on her back, steering her away from the shop.

"Where?"

"To see your brother, of course!" Shino herded her along.

"I just left Kankuro." Temari protested. "Besides. We just got engaged, shouldn't we be alone?"

"You have a baby with you, alone time is a bit difficult with an infant." He nudged her with his hip. "Besides, wrong brother. You just said yes, I want to nail this down with Gaara before you weasel out of it."

"I DIDN'T SAY YES! You said yes!" She yelled.

"Doesn't matter one whit to me." He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "We get married, I get you, you get me and we get together. Then we can work on making one of these for you and me." He nodded toward Kentaro.

Temari's breath caught as she realized that she was engaged. She was still herself and her pride was still intact. This might work out after all!

o.o.o.o.o

Ino was about to leave when Sakura burst through the door, frantic. "Where have you been? Your mother was worried sick you'd miss your own wedding!"

"No time! No time! Oh …I need a shower! Shower first, make-up, dress …"

"Dress …then the make-up! If you put the dress on after, it might all smear …."

The two girls were talking all over each other as they rushed to get ready for the wedding. In the corner of the room, Tanshi offered a prayer of thanksgiving heavenward and ran to finish getting ready herself so that she could help the girls.

o.o.o.o.o

Yugao opened her door for her date, then paused. "You're not Iruka's friend."

"Yes I am." Shikamaru said blithely. "Iruka-san and I are on good terms, I assure you."

The blue-haired kunoichi frowned. "That's not what I meant and you know it. Iruka set me up on a date for the Inuzuka wedding with one of his friends."

"He had ...a change of plans." Shikamaru smirked, having been the author of those plans changing. "And now you get to go out with a different friend of Iruka's."

"Does Iruka know about this?" She challenged him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "He will when we get to the wedding."

She shook her head at him, but didn't protest further. Waiting to see how this went today.

o.o.o.o.o

"What was that again?" Gaara looked a bit off-kilter even as he ate the pancakes before him.

Temari watched in awe and wonder as Chiyo would casually brush her fingers over Gaara's shoulder, or touch his hair as she bustled around the kitchen happily. Since when was her brother comfortable with casual touch?

Gaara continued to stare at her until Shino nudged her foot. She looked at him, then back at her brother. "Oh, right. I asked Shino to marry me."

"I said yes." As if there would be any doubt, the Aburame reminded them both. "We want to start the contract negotiations right away."

"No need." Gaara waved one hand dismissively. "Go talk to the Hokage's office."

"No, Gaara." Temari leaned in. "We want to start the negotiations today. Shino's father is in town, you are in town …it's perfect."

The red-head leaned over his plate to look at them. "There's no need."

"I don't want her changing her mind."

"He threatened war if I did." Temari smirked.

Gaara paused at that. "You really want her that badly? She's' ill tempered, foul mouthed, prideful …"

Temari growled and would have struck out at her brother if not for the infant currently asleep in her arms.

"She's perfect." Shino intoned with total honesty from his point of view. "Perfect."

The blonde kunoichi gave him a sultry look that promised a reward later. Shino shivered in anticipation. He hadn't even told her he was wearing her underpants today, just to keep something of hers near him. Now he wouldn't have to tell her, hopefully she'd find out all on her own.

"So, get to work little brother!" Temari grinned. "We can all head over to the Aburame compound before Sakura's wedding and at least get the formal preliminaries out of the way."

Gaara sighed. "You don't understand. I've already met with Shibi."

Shino stiffened. "What?"

"We wanted everything ready to go when you two finally got it all together." Gaara yawned. "We just thought we'd start with the preliminary stuff, but it went so well that we went ahead and negotiated it all out."

"All of it?" Temari looked stunned.

"Well, not the date." Gaara looked at her pointedly. "That's the only thing we couldn't anticipate. Took you long enough. The contracts have been ready for nearly five months now."

Temari looked ready to explode. Shino leaned over to her. "It'll take a little while to get the contracts ratified by both the Suna and Konoha councils."

"No. Already done." Gaara pushed his nearly empty plate away in contentment. "Actually, the only thing you two need to do is set the date and get married. Everything else is in place."

Temari looked at Shino, he looked back at her. "Today?" She whispered.

Shino nodded.

Gaara frowned. "No, it needs to be a big wedding. So you'll need a few months to get the flowers and dress and such."

"You didn't." She turned on him, her gaze like daggers.

Gaara grinned. "One of the perks of being the Kazekage. I get to make the rules. This is a wedding joining Konoha and Suna more permanently together as allies. My elopement cheated the councils out of a celebration. And Kankuro …well, we had to rush that one. But you two get the big wedding."

Temari felt physically sick. "I hate you."

Gaara leaned back and grinned.

Temari narrowed her eyes on him. "Come on Shino, we have things to get ready." She pushed the sleeping infant into Gaara's hands and put a small pouch on the table. "Go to your uncle, Kentaro."

Gaara's face fell comically as he took the baby, lest the child fall. He tried to give him back, but Temari was already walking out the door. "Temari?!"

He looked down at the infant and then up at Chiyo in hope. She just grinned at him happily. "This will be good practice for you." His mother-by-marriage announced and swept from the room, leaving Gaara alone with his worst nightmare.

Kentaro stretched, yawned and blinked open his eyes at his red-headed uncle.

"Oh shit." Gaara stood there, barely daring to breathe in case the baby started crying.

o.o.o.o.o

Kakashi stared, stunned. "A kitten?"

Iruka smiled down at the furry bundle. "Shizune gave him to us as a house-warming present."

The copy-nin spread out his arms to show off their space. "This is an apartment, not a house."

Iruka nodded. "But it is OUR apartment, together. For the first time we're not sharing my place or your place, but our place. And this is our first present ….a gift for the two of us together. The two of us."

Kakashi paused a moment and nodded, his gaze melting a bit as he looked at the kitten swatting playfully at Iruka's hair. "I like the sound of that."

"Me too."

o.o.o.o.o

Ino rushed into the house, needing to hurry to get ready now that Sakura was almost done. Tanshi had her daughter well in hand now and Hinata had come over to help as well. Now Ino needed to wash up and change.

She was nearly ten steps past the kitchen when her brain caught up with her feet and she registered what she'd just seen. Backing up to the kitchen doorway, she looked in and stared.

Gaara snarled at her.

Ino walked in and looked at Kentaro as the baby sat in the pile of sand that wrapped around his body. She watched in awe as non-sharp sand spikes spiraled up for the baby to try and catch in his chubby hands. "Why?" She asked, pointing.

"Temari's a bitch." Was his dry response.

Ino nodded, though she didn't get the connection. "Why is he …"

"He likes trying to catch the sand spikes. Don't worry, they won't hurt him." Gaara's scowl grew deeper. "And your mother abandoned me to go help with the reception preparations."

Ino nodded again, though she'd still not asked her original question. "Why is his seat made of sand?" She finally got it out.

Gaara looked over at her like she was missing something elemental. "Because he can't sit up on his own. I tried that, but he was all …floppy."

The blonde bit her lips to keep from laughing out loud. "Floppy?" She nodded gravely. "So you made a seat for him?" She realized it was so her beloved husband wouldn't have to HOLD the baby. But she didn't say so.

Gaara nodded and winced. "And I can't use this sand ever again."

Ino gave him and odd look, then leaned over and sniffed the child. "Gaara! He needs to be changed!"

"I know." Came the grumpy response. "But Temari didn't leave me any supplies …" He stopped as Ino reached over and grabbed the small pouch on the table. "Don't bother, those are just hair ribbons. I think TenTen sent the wrong bag."

Ino shook her head in disgust and flipped the ribbon out so that it snapped and ran her hands down it. As she did, objects 'poofed' into existence as the ribbons were actually embedded with supplies for the baby.

Gaara groaned and sank into a nearby chair. "I'm not made to be a father."

Ino leaned over and with her new found insight, gave him a hug. "We'll work through this together."

He looked up at her, hope in his pale-jade eyes. "No cyclamen?"

"Clover." She smiled, "and forget-me-nots."

Gaara sighed with relief as she reached for the baby to change him, sand dripping down the boy's legs. And maybe something else too. Gaara frowned and gathered all the 'dirty' sand and sent it out into the garden post-haste.

"_Good-luck and true love."_ He smiled to himself. Yes. He liked clover and forget-me-nots a whole lot better than cyclamen. Gaara looked over at Ino. "I don't know what I ever did to deserve you, but I thank heaven for it every day."

Ino stopped and stared at him, tears gathering in her eyes. "I love you too."

o.o.o.o.o

"Sakura isn't here yet?" Tsume growled low.

"She will be." Kiba gave a secretive grin where his mother couldn't see his face.

"I thought you two broke up?" Tsunade said as she stood in the temple, waiting for the bride.

Kiba shrugged and Akamaru gave a happy series of barks.

Tsume stopped frowning and stared at the dog. "House? Tree? What tree fell?"

Kiba whistled at Akamaru and gave him the signal to keep quiet. Some things just didn't need sharing with his mother.

Tsunade spied an hint of pink and watched as Sakura came down the street in her spectacular wedding kimono. Hinata, Temari, TenTen and Ino walked behind her to keep the train of the silk of the street surface.

Kiba grinned fatuously and Tsume rolled her eyes. "I just hope they don't have pink-haired babies."

Tsunade grinned. "I've already made book on it. The odds are decent. Want in on it?"

o.o.o.o.o

**Long chapter, but yes ...the story ...and the Epilogue ...are finished. Sigh. THANK you for reading and reviewing and nominating and supporting ...yeah, thank you all!**

**BTW, there is a new poll on my account page. Which couple from this fic was the most odd at first, but you really were cheering for them in the end?**


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